Dreaming a Reality
by emmytsa
Summary: Danny's worst nightmare leads to a second chance, but there's a high price to pay.
1. Chapter 1

**Teaser**

"Danny, we've got shots fired on 22!" Mike screamed into the phone as he ran from the security room towards the elevators.

"I'm on my way!" Danny looked from Delinda to Derek, the awkwardness in the room still palpable.

"I've got to go. There's a situation."

"Danny, we should talk," Delinda said, reaching for him.

"You two need to talk first. I'll find you later," he told her, pulling his hand from hers as he suddenly felt cold.

Danny knew that Delinda was about to end her relationship with Derek and the thought left him both relieved and terrified. Was this what he wanted? He'd hoped she would make the decision for herself. That was why he'd tried to keep his opinions neutral on the subject because he really wasn't sure how he felt about her. He knew that he cared about Delinda a great deal; that her friendship was important to him and the thought of losing yet another person in his life had filled him with a sense of abandonment.

The question was did he love her? Did he really want to try to make a life with her? Somehow the thought of a future with Delinda left him feeling empty. Certainly not the way he'd felt when he'd thought about a life with… "_Stop,_" he silently chastised himself, "_you have to stop comparing every woman in your life to her. She doesn't want you anymore_."

As the elevator doors opened on the 22nd floor, Danny held his phone close to his ear, straining to hear Mike as the signal faded in and out in the interior of the building.

"We think we've got the shooter, Danny. I've already called the paramedics because we haven't been able to make contact with Ed in his suite."

"I'm there now, Mike. Give me a second," Danny knocked loudly before using his passkey to open the door to the suite.

"I'm on my way up, Danny. I should be there in two minutes."

Danny snapped his cell shut and rounded the corner into the living room area of the suite, catching sight of his boss and mentor as he held his hands to a rapidly spreading bloodstain on his white tuxedo shirt.

"I'm alright, kid," Ed gasped a little and Danny could tell that it was hurting him to speak. Pulling Ed's hands away from the area of the wound he quickly guessed that the bullet had probably collapsed one of his lungs.

"The paramedics are on the way."

"Danny," Ed tried to speak again.

"Don't try to talk. I think the bullet took out one of your lungs so just take it easy."

"Shooter?" Ed asked, ignoring Danny's request.

"We got him downstairs."

"You sure you got the guy?" Ed asked again.

"We got him, Mr. D," Mike assured the injured man as he and the paramedics entered the room.

"I heard another shot," Ed rasped as Danny and Mike looked at each other confused.

"When?"

"After he shot me. He went out the service door and I heard another shot. Check the hallway, Danny."

"I'm on it." Danny headed towards the side door. All of the presidential suites had a service entrance from a private hallway so that the housekeeping and wait staff could access the suites without using the main entrances. Danny took a deep breath as he opened the door, hoping that he wouldn't find some member of the Montecito staff lying injured in the hallway… an innocent victim of circumstance and bad timing.

As he cleared the doorway his head immediately turned to the left; taking note of the empty hallway he turned his gaze to the right and saw her--the crumpled form of a woman, only her legs visible as her upper body lay obscured in the open doorway of a service closet. Danny approached slowly, silently praying for this unknown woman and her family. His mind raced with questions as he continued to make his way towards her, but as he reached the body and looked down everything stopped. At that moment in time he felt like he'd entered a vacuum. Every bit of air seemed to be sucked from his lungs as he stared at the lifeless body of his friend--the only woman he had ever loved–laying motionless in a pool of blood.

"NOOOOOO!" he screamed, collapsing beside her and immediately cradling her body to his chest. "SOMEBODY HELP ME!!!"

Having heard Danny's anguished cry, Mike was there in an instant. "Omigod," he gasped in disbelief, falling to his knees as his friend keened in misery, unconsciously rocking the woman in his arms.

"Mike, get the paramedics. We have to help her."

Still in shock Mike managed to reach a hand out, finding his way to the spot that should be pulsing with life, but that only felt still and cold.

"Danny, she's gone," he said, his voice breaking with emotion.

"NO! She's not gone. Get the goddamn paramedics, Mike. Why are you just sitting there?" Danny pleaded as he pushed the blood-soaked hair away from her face so he could drop kisses onto her forehead.

"Danny, I'm sorry," Mike whispered. "I'm so sorry."

Hours later the group of friends sat silently in a tiny waiting room at Summerlin Hospital. Ed had made it through surgery with little damage and Jillian had been ushered away by the doctor only moments earlier. Despite the news of the man's assured recovery, a sense of despair still hung heavily over the room. All of them were in shock at the events of the day--a day that was supposed to have been a joyous occasion, but had turned into a nightmare for all of them; no one more so than Danny.

"Danny, honey, why don't you let me find you something to change into," Delinda asked, her hand gently caressing his face. All eyes in the room looked their way, but were quickly cast downward again, unable to bear the sight of the blood which soaked his shirt.

"No," Danny said through gritted teeth as he pulled his face away from Delinda's touch. He couldn't bear to change--to wash her away, the only traces he had left.

"Danny, I know you're hurting. We all are, but you'll feel better if you get out of those clothes, splash some water on your face. Come on," she stood up, tugging on his hand. "I'll go with you."

"NO!" he yelled, the boom of his voice filling the room and startling everyone out of their misery.

"You think splashing some water on my face is going to help, Delinda? Mary is dead! She's DEAD!! And you think that I should just change my clothes and move on."

"I didn't say that, Danny. I just thought," Delinda trailed off, her eyes filling with tears.

"What was she doing upstairs?" Danny asked, his voice low and menacing as he turned to face Sam. "What was Mary doing upstairs? She was supposed to be with you, Sam. Why was she outside of Ed's suite?"

Sam looked at Danny, but couldn't quite bring herself to meet his eyes and she did something she hadn't done in years--she looked to Casey for support.

"She wanted to talk to Ed about taking some time off," Casey responded, realizing that his ex-wife was in no shape to have this conversation.

"Why? Were you whisking her away on some exotic trip? Why was it necessary for her to talk to Ed less than an hour before the wedding?"

"She was upset," Sam finally responded quietly, her head still down.

"Why?" Danny demanded, his eyes taking on a crazed look. "What the hell did you do, Manning?!" He leapt at Casey then, slamming him against the wall of the waiting room and wrapping his hands around the man's neck, not allowing him to breathe.

"Christ, Danny!" Mike yelled, grabbing his friend from behind and trying to get him to let up on their boss.

"Why was she so upset you son of a bitch? Did you hurt her?" Mike finally pried Danny's hands loose and pulled him away, positioning himself between the two men.

"I didn't hurt her, Danny!" Casey spat, struggling to catch his breath as Delinda and Sam both helped him to sit. "_You _did!"

"What are you talking about?" Danny asked, stunned.

"She found out about your little fling with Delinda! She found out that every one of her friends had been keeping it from her and she was devastated! She needed some time away and she went to Ed to ask for it so if you want to blame someone for this whole mess--someone besides the man who pulled the trigger–then blame yourself, you self-righteous, hypocritical bastard."

"Oh, God," Delinda cried, burying her face in her hands as her body shook with sobs.

The room was spinning as Danny paced back and forth, mumbling to himself, listening to the sounds of Delinda's wails. "This isn't happening," he said. "What have I done?"

He should have been honest with her from the beginning. He should have told her how much she meant to him. He should have never let her walk away that day on the floor. This wasn't how it was supposed to be. He'd spent his whole life afraid of losing her and now she was gone. She was really gone and he'd never get another chance.

"Danny, man, it's going to be okay," Mike tried to tell him. "It's going to be okay …"

His friend's voice was fading as flashes of light and color filled Danny's vision. He could hear yelling and gunshots and a distant explosion as a searing heat and pain took over his senses. He couldn't feel his body anymore, couldn't feel anything but the pain and the loss and the heat…the damn heat. And then suddenly everything was black.


	2. Chapter 2

_I purposely did not include this author's note with the first chapter because I didn't want to spoil the story. I usually don't like to post my stories here until they are completed, but since I'm sort of on a roll with this one after a long hiatus I'm anticipating that it will be completed in the near future. This idea came to me when a few Danny/Mary fans on their fan board were so disillusioned with the show that they jokingly made the comment that maybe the last two seasons had all been a bad dream. I began writing this story after the S3 finale and it was originally my intention to just do a lighthearted rewrite of S2, but with a better ending for Danny and Mary. A few chapters into it I decided to take it in a different direction and the plot became darker and more sinister. It is-- like my other fics-- a Danny and Mary romance as well as full of drama and suspense. _

_Thank you so much for the great reviews so far. Nbclasvegasfan-- I hope you'll still want to read it even without a Danny and Delinda ending. By the looks of things D/D will probably get their happy ending on the show so we're forced to create ones for Danny and Mary in fanfic. _

_I'm anxious to find out what everyone thinks so please review. If I see that you're enjoying it then I'll post more chapters. _

_To NBC, GST, WB and everyone else…I don't own Las Vegas. Things would be a lot different if I did. Please don't sue me. I don't have any money anyway and I'm sure you've got more important things to worry about._

_Is This Real?_

The light was blinding as Danny tried to open his eyes. The heat was gone now and the searing pain that he'd felt moments before was replaced by a dull ache in his head. He tried to reach his hand up, but he found it too difficult to move. There were voices in the room, but he was having trouble making out what they were saying and he wasn't even sure if he recognized any of them. As he slowly opened one eye, his gaze was unfocused, but he could make out machines and a sterile white room. A hospital. That must be it, but what was he doing in a hospital? Suddenly, it all came flooding back…Delinda, the wedding, the shooter, Ed…Mary. Danny squeezed his eyes shut again as they stung with tears.

"Good morning, Lieutenant McCoy. Nice of you to join us." Someone in the room must have noticed his movements because his eyes were suddenly forced open again and a blinding pinpoint of light flashed back and forth in his vision.

"Do you know where you are?"

"Hospital," Danny grunted, his voice sounding surprisingly hoarse.

"You had us all worried about you, kid," the gravelly voice was familiar and Danny turned his head towards the door.

"Ed? How long have I been here?"

"A little over a week," the older man responded.

"A week?" Danny asked, becoming agitated. "No…please… I wanted to see her again…. I need to see her one more time, Ed." He was pulling at his IV now and the doctor reached for the buzzer to call the nurse. "I can't miss it."

"Danny, calm down," Ed tried to order him. "Who are you talking about? Miss what?"

"The funeral. Goddammit!" he screamed, knocking over the pole that held various bags of fluids. "I needed to make sure...she doesn't like lilies…they need to be roses…white and yellow roses. Ed, did you make sure? Please… tell me."

"Danny, you're confused, son. Who are you talking about?"

"MARY!"

"She's not here right now," Ed's voice was still full of concern, but now that he thought he knew the problem he was glad it could be easily remedied.

"I know she's not…because of me," he cried, his voice raw with emotion. "I'm so sorry…I'm so sorry."

"Lieutenant McCoy, I'm going to give you a sedative," the doctor explained as the nurse finally arrived with a syringe. "It's just going to help you relax."

"I killed her!" Danny screamed, lashing out again as both Ed and the doctor tried to subdue him.

"Danny, it's going to be okay," Ed told him, meeting the doctor's confused eyes.

"It's never going to be okay," the injured man sobbed as the sedative quickly took effect.

When Danny drifted back into consciousness, he felt his fingers laced with someone else's and a weight on the bed beside him. Confusion settled over him as he smelled the soft scent of almond that always reminded him of Mary. He could hear voices in the room again, but this time it was easier to make out what they were saying.

"You didn't see him…he was hysterical," Ed said.

"What did the doctor say?"

Danny's heart rate quickened at the sound of the second person. It was so familiar, but he knew that his mind must be playing tricks on him–just like with the scent of Mary's shampoo. He needed to get his bearings…to figure out what was going on. He was sure that it was Delinda next to him on the bed and the thought made his stomach burn. He knew it wasn't fair to her, but she was a reminder of his failures–of the pain they'd caused and all he'd given up and he just couldn't stand to be near her. He hadn't realized until the moment he held Mary's lifeless body in his arms just how much he'd let slip through his grasp. Pulling his hand from hers, Danny turned his head away just as he heard her softly whisper, "Hey, sleepyhead."

Christ, she even sounded like Mary in his mind. How was he ever going to get through this? His head pounded as she continued, "We've been so worried about you. I'm sorry I wasn't here when you woke up."

He tried to tune the voice out, the sweet melodic voice that filled his dreams. Why wouldn't his damn head cooperate? Turning back to the two men in the room, he tried to get his vision to focus, but it was just as bad. He could see Ed, his eyes still full of concern, but the other man looked so much like Larry McCoy that Danny had to squeeze his eyes shut at the sight. _What the hell is this? How hard did I hit my head?  
_  
"The doctor definitely thinks he'll be calmer now that she's here," Ed's voice continued.

The doctor was an idiot. He didn't want Delinda here. The only woman he ever wanted was gone and he'd never get her back. Why couldn't everyone just understand that and leave him alone.

"Danny, please look at me," he heard her voice again and finally brought himself to meet her gaze. He knew he'd have to do it eventually and maybe if he was able to convince her that he was fine, that he didn't need her here, then she would leave. Of course, he wasn't even sure what he was doing here so he'd have to figure that out first.

The breath left his lungs and his eyes filled with tears when he finally saw her. She was so beautiful…he'd almost forgotten. He took a deep breath, thanking any divine power that would listen for this one last moment with her, even if it was only a dream.

Her hair was redder than he remembered it the last time he had seen her. It was the color it had been when they were younger and he reached out to run his fingers through the strands that fell from her haphazard pony tail. She was crying, huge tears that rolled slowly down her cheeks, but she was smiling. Her smile. It lit up the room and Danny couldn't help but smile back.

"I love you," he whispered, using the pad of his thumb to wipe away another tear. "I love you so much. I'm so sorry…for everything."

"There's nothing to be sorry for, Danny. The doctor says you're going to be fine."

"That's right, Lieutenant McCoy. I just got your latest CT scan back and everything seems to be normal. There's no swelling as we'd originally feared and if you keep this up we'll be able to release you in the next couple of days." Danny could hear the doctor speaking, but he refused to tear his eyes away from the woman he imagined seated at his bedside. "I'm sure you're anxious to get back to the states."

States? Danny turned to face the doctor then, but he never took his hand from Mary's face. Where was he? And why did everyone keep calling him Lieutenant McCoy?

"Now, since you did have some confusion when you first woke, I'd like to ask you a few questions. What's the last thing you remember?"

Danny glanced at the faces in the room as images in his mind started to war with each other. He looked from the doctor to Ed and then to his father…his father. Yes, that was definitely who it was, but how? His father had died a year ago… hadn't he? Things were starting to get fuzzy now. He remembered a wedding…Delinda's wedding, right? And Mary was with Sam's ex-husband. Sam… married? Danny closed his eyes and shook his head trying to clear the fog, but when he opened them again it wasn't fog, but sand that clouded his vision...and the heat, the blistering heat. He was back in the desert, they were pinned down and there was no choice but to call in the air strike. Omigod, the air strike. His unit…were they alright? Had they made it out?

And suddenly he realized something else. Quickly opening his eyes he turned back to the woman beside him. "We made love. The last time I saw you…we made love, right?"

His voice was so full of hope and pleading and Mary grabbed his hand again, burying her face in his palm as she tried to hide the blush of embarrassment at discussing something so personal in front of the other men in the room.

"Yes, we did," she answered, returning her gaze to his. "You remember?"

"Of course I remember. I'll never forget," Danny promised, pulling her closer so he could kiss her lips. "I'll never forget," he whispered, more to himself than to her this time.

He wasn't sure exactly what was going on. He wasn't sure if this was a dream or what he'd imagined before had been, but this was the reality he wanted. This was the life he wanted to lead…the one he wanted a second chance at.

"Mary?" He asked his voice still full of awe and disbelief.

"I'm right here, Danny."

"You're here. You're really here and I didn't mess things up. I didn't lose you?"

"Of course you didn't lose me. You're never going to lose me, Danny."

"Promise."

"I promise."


	3. Chapter 3

_Doctors, Definitions and Dealing_

"Tell me about your dreams, Danny."

Danny shifted nervously under the therapist's gaze as he tried to form a response. This was his first visit with Dr. Lowe, the psychiatrist the military had sent him to, and he was nervous as hell.

"Well, there was this one with Wonder Woman and Batgirl in a giant champagne glass full of whipped cream…"

"Cute. Is that how you want to start this?" The man's tone was even and flat, but Danny felt as though he'd been thoroughly chastised.

"Sorry. It was just a joke."

"Do you often use humor to mask your feelings?" He asked, obviously still not amused.

"No…I usually just change the subject."

The older man lowered his glasses and peered at Danny over the rims. He did not look pleased and Danny decided the best way to get through this was to just tell him what he wanted to hear.

"Look, it was a stupid joke, but sometimes I feel like if I have to think too much about all of this stuff then I'll go crazy and I'm trying really hard to keep that from happening."

"Is that what you think? Do you think you're going crazy?"

"Isn't that what you're supposed to figure out?"

Danny met the man's gaze and he was rewarded with a smile–albeit a small one–before Dr. Lowe spoke again, "Tell me about the dream, Danny. The one you've been having since you were injured."

"It's not just one dream," Danny started. "It's like scenes from another life. It's like my subconscious showing me all the consequences of choosing the wrong path."

"The wrong path? Are you talking about decisions you've made?"

"Or that I'm going to make in the future."

"Okay…"

"I know it sounds…crazy," Danny cringed as he used the word, "but I really feel like I'm being given a second chance at something.

"At life?"

"Maybe."

"But the dreams aren't pleasant, are they?"

"No, far from it. They're mostly nightmares--the men in my unit dying, losing my father to a drunk driver, losing Mary and then watching her die, of Ed…," Danny trailed off.

"But none of that happened, right? It says in your file that all your men made it out okay, Danny, and that you were the only one injured."

"Yeah."

"And your father is still living?"

"Yes."

"And Mary. That's your girlfriend, right?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"You guess? You don't sound very sure."

"About Mary? Of course I'm sure."

"Then why did you hesitate?"

"It was just your choice of words. I've never thought of her as my girlfriend. She's just…she's my Mary."

----

Danny walked hesitantly through the lobby doors of the Montecito. He'd been back in Vegas for over a week, but this was the first time he'd visited the casino and he still wasn't sure how he felt about coming back to work. He would have been perfectly happy to spend the rest of his life curled up in bed with Mary, but when she'd announced last night that she would be returning to work in the morning he knew that he should probably consider doing the same.

Like he'd told Dr. Lowe that morning, the dream that had haunted him during his stay at the hospital in Germany had revisited him in pieces since his return. He had hoped they would stop, but the nightmares refused to leave him and almost every night he woke up covered in sweat, clinging to Mary as she held his head to her chest, stroking his hair until he fell asleep again.

Danny was crossing the casino floor, taking in the lights and sounds that accompanied it when he spotted her at the cashier. Her back was to him and he could almost imagine her forehead creased in concentration as she reviewed the papers in front of her. Careful to stay out of her line of sight, Danny approached from behind–reaching out to tap her gently on the shoulder.

"Just a second," she mumbled, still engrossed in her work.

Ignoring her request, he reached out and tapped her again. This time her acknowledgment was an abrupt raise of her finger indicating she was almost finished. _Third times a charm_, Danny thought mischievously as he reached out to nudge her one more time. He could see her shoulders square as she took a deep breath and blew it back out dramatically, preparing to turn and meet the source of her annoyance. Of course the minute she saw him her expression of irritation changed to one of delight and surprise.

"Hi," she said as she wrapped her arms around his neck, laughing as he lifted her up off the ground in his embrace. "What are you doing here?"

"I missed you," Danny said, burying his face in her neck.

"It's only been four hours," Mary giggled as he kissed the sensitive spot between her neck and shoulder.

"So?"

"So…," she drawled, trying to think of a response, but at the moment all she could think about was how good it felt for him to hold her like this–here in the middle of the Montecito for everyone to see. "I missed you too," she finally said, her eyes welling with happy tears.

Danny pulled back, holding her face in his hands while he gently nudged the tip of her nose with his own before moving his lips to hers and kissing her deeply.

"I came by to see if you wanted to grab some lunch."

"Mmm, that sounds good. How was your appointment?"

"It was okay," Danny responded cryptically, but when Mary gave him a look he decided to come clean. "It was… interesting. I really don't know if I like the guy, but I felt a little better after talking to him. He gave me a prescription for some pills that are supposed to help me sleep."

"And?"

"And, he wants to see me again in a week."

"Okay," she said with a sincere smile, looking deep into his eyes. He knew she was trying to figure out if he was hiding anything so he decided to tell her a little bit more about the visit.

"You know…Dr. Lowe asked me if you were my girlfriend."

"Oh?" Mary said, her voice taking on an octave of hope as her heart did a back flip. She'd been with Danny almost non-stop since he'd woken in the hospital and while the current state of their relationship had yet to be discussed, Mary was hoping that they were moving towards something significantly more than friendship.

"Yeah, I had to stop and think about it."

"Oh," this time her tone was crestfallen and dejected. Maybe she'd been mistaken. Danny had been through an incredible trauma and it was only natural that he would be clinging to her now. As soon as he felt stronger things would most likely go back to the way they'd always been. Mary steeled herself for the inevitable heartbreak as she felt his finger gently lift her chin so that she could meet his eyes.

"I had to stop because I don't think I could ever think about you as just my girlfriend. You're so much more than that."

"I am?" She asked her voice hesitant and heavy with tears.

"You're my everything," he whispered, leaning forward to capture her lips in an achingly slow kiss. Mary's toes curled as his hands moved gently from her hair, across her bare shoulders and then down her spine. He was barely touching her, but Mary was on fire and she almost didn't trust herself not to devour him right there in the middle of the casino. Luckily, Danny pulled away before she completely lost control, resting his forehead against hers.

"I love you so much and I'm going to do whatever I have to do to get better, Mare."

"I'll be here with you every step of the way."

Mary's fingers danced in the short hair at the base of Danny's skull as he once again dropped his head to her shoulder.

"Why don't you head upstairs?" she said, turning her face to place a kiss close to his ear. "I need to make a couple of calls and then I'll meet you out by the pool."

"The pool?" Danny straightened up and Mary rolled her eyes as his face lit up like a little kid.

"Don't get any ideas! I meant the regular pool, Danny. I've been dealing with those topless girls all day. I don't want to have to watch you ogle their goodies while I eat."

"Fine," he said, trying to sound disappointed, but his smile gave him away as he leaned down to kiss the tip of her nose. "Trust me. Yours are the only goodies I want to ogle from now on. Scout's honor."

"Yeah, right," she told him, an amused smile on her face. "Go say hi to the guys upstairs. I'll see you in about 20 minutes."

---

"Hey, man. Good to have you back," Mitch said, reaching out to shake Danny's hand.

"I'm not back. Just stopped by for a visit."

"You sure you're alright," Mike asked in a low voice so that no one else could hear.

"Yeah, I just need a little more time."

"I know Mary's taking good care of you, but if you need anything, you'll let me know, right?"

"Yeah," Danny said quietly as he noticed Ed stick his head out of his office.

"Mike, do a sweep of the Pai Gow tables. There's a group of guys who've been winning pretty big today. Just make sure everything is on the up and up."

"You got it, boss," Mike responded before turning to Danny, "I'll give you a call later, man."

Danny watched Mike exit the room before his gaze ascended the stairs to his boss. Ed tilted his head to the side, silently asking his protégé to join him and Danny had no choice but to comply. He'd talked to Ed almost daily this week, but he was sure the older man wanted an update on his fragile psyche and Danny felt a little weird about revealing such personal details of his life. Talking to Mary was one thing, but this was Ed and Danny never wanted the man to see him as anything other than completely capable.

"So, how's everything going?"

"Okay, I guess. I'm still having some trouble sleeping," he supplied before taking a seat on the leather sofa.

"What does the doc say?"

"He thinks I might have an eating disorder."

"Very funny," Ed responded, dryly.

"He didn't like my jokes either."

"Maybe because this is serious, Danny."

"You think I don't know that?" his voice was loud, startling them both. Desperate to reign in his feelings of frustration, Danny stood from the sofa and began pacing the room.

"Look, he gave me some pills to help me sleep and I'm going back next week. I'm taking this very seriously, Ed, but I just need you to give me a break. I can't handle everyone looking at me like I'm broken."

"You're not broken, kid."

Danny looked up then as he felt Ed's hand on his shoulder. He was suddenly taken aback by the emotion he saw in his mentor's eyes, but he could not shake the uneasy feeling it gave him. Danny knew he should thank him, but when the words refused to come Ed met his gaze with a look of understanding.

"Whenever you're ready to come back, Danny. We'll be waiting for you."


	4. Chapter 4

_Thanks for all the wonderful reviews. Here's a couple more chapters._

4-Domestic Discussions

"Danny, breakfast is the most important meal of the day."

"Mare, I promise I'll grab something on the way."

"Like what? Krispy Kreme?"

Danny sighed heavily before responding, "If I promise to eat something healthy will you not make me eat that stuff." He looked disgustingly at the bowl she'd placed on the table in front of him.

"Danny, your idea of healthy is using margarine instead of butter. I don't know why you're being such a baby. I put blueberries and bananas on it–you like bananas."

"Then why don't you just make me a bowl of fruit? I'll eat that," he told her as he sat down to pull on his shoes.

Mary sighed in frustration, picking up the bowl and slamming it in the sink with a little more force than she had intended. Embarrassed, she kept her back to Danny but soon felt his arms coming around her and his head resting on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry I'm being a nag," she told him, holding back tears.

"You're not. I'm just being difficult."

"No, you're a grown man and you can eat whatever you want. I don't have any right, I just want to take care of you."

"You have every right, Mary, and I love that you want to take care of me, but..."

"But?" Mary asked in a tiny voice, dreading what was about to come next. This was where he told her it was too much; that she was stifling him; that he thought it was time he went back to his own apartment.

Danny turned her around, lifting her chin with his finger so she could see the seriousness in his eyes. "I really hate that cereal."

Mary's brow knitted in confusion before Danny's face broke into a wide grin showing her that all her worry had been for nothing. Her smile matched his own as he leaned in for a slow, lingering kiss–breakfast all but forgotten.

---

"I'm so glad we're doing this. It's been too long since we had some serious girl talk," Delinda said as she joined Mary and Sam at the table.

"Speaking of girl talk," Sam cut in. "You need to do some serious spilling, Miss Connell."

"Yeah, what's been going on with you and Danny? Mike says he's been at your place every night since he got back," Nessa asked, popping a chip into her mouth.

"He's been staying with me," Mary told them, trying to hide her blush. As evidenced by her freak out this morning, she still couldn't believe that things were going so well and she kept waiting for someone to pull the rug out from under her. "I mean at first the doctor said he shouldn't be alone because of the head wound and the trouble he was having readjusting, but now that he's getting better…"

"You're both perfectly happy with the living arrangements," Delinda supplied.

Mary nodded her head enthusiastically eliciting squeals from all three of her friends.

"It's about time!" Sam said, raising her drink in a toast to her friends.

"No kidding," Delinda replied, tinking her glass with everyone before taking a drink. "I thought you two were never going to get it together. Now the Danny and Mary story can have a happy ending."

"Yeah, I guess," Mary hedged, chewing nervously on her bottom lip, a move that did not go unnoticed by the other girls.

"For a girl who all of a sudden got everything she ever wanted you don't seem too excited," Nessa told her, looking questioningly at Delinda to see if she knew the cause of the other woman's concern, but the blonde just shrugged and turned her attention back to Mary.

"I am, but I'm also a little…overwhelmed. I'm not used to Danny like this. I've been pining for him my whole life and now it's like here he is in all his glory wanting to give himself to me on a silver platter and it's a little scary. I feel like it's all just some strange dream and that any moment I'm going to wake up and be alone in my bed."

"Don't be silly, Mare. Danny wouldn't be this serious about something if he wasn't absolutely sure," Delinda assured her.

"He's been through so much though. What if…."

"No, no 'what ifs'," Sam cut her off. "Danny adores you and the two of you belong together. Relationships are not all about hearts and flowers. It's tough work, but if you truly want this then you'll figure out a way to get through the hard times."

As soon as the words were out of her mouth she noticed the gaping looks of all three of her friends who were obviously shocked that Sam had actually said something so sincere. Attempting to redeem her hard-hearted reputation, Sam quickly supplied, "What? I read that on a Hallmark card one time. I thought it sounded appropriate for this situation."

"Uh huh, sure, Sam," Delinda responded while Nessa rolled her eyes and Mary just smiled. She hoped that Sam was right about things because she didn't think at this point she would be able to let Danny go.

---

"My man is back," Mike announced to the pool area as he joined Danny at a table on the patio.

"Calm down. People might get the wrong idea about us."

Ignoring Danny's comment Mike continued, "Back one week and you already bust a major card counting scheme involving one of our own employees."

"Yeah," Danny grinned, still proud of himself. "How did you manage to get along without me?

"It was tough, man. I can't believe Leo was in on that whole deal."

"I knew there was a reason I didn't like him," Danny said, taking a bite of his burger while Mike glanced at the menu. He loved staying with Mary, but she insisted on feeding him healthy food and he'd been unable to hide his dislike for it at breakfast. Of course, they hadn't done much talking this morning after their clothes had come off, but Danny was sure they'd reached an understanding. Still, he had been so anxious for this lunch with Mike that he'd called his order in ahead of time so the double bacon cheeseburger would be waiting for him as soon as he sat down.

"Yeah, whatever. You didn't like him because you thought he was putting the moves on your girl."

"He was!" Danny insisted, his mouth full of food. "You saw the way he looked at her, Mike--like he was imagining her naked."

Mike chuckled and took a sip of his tea, "Danny, lots of guys look at Mary like that."

"Yeah, and I don't like any of them either."

"Danny, YOU look at Mary like that."

"I'm allowed….because, you know, I actually get to see her naked," Danny waggled his eyebrows and Mike had to laugh before changing to a more serious subject.

"That stuff the doc gave you helping?"

"Well, I'm not waking up screaming anymore, but Mary says I still talk a lot in my sleep."

"Talk in your sleep, huh? That could be dangerous. Hope there's nothing in there about old girlfriends or anything."

"No, nothing like that. She says it's all military stuff."

"Weird."

"Yeah," Danny said quietly, seeming to be lost in thought for a moment before Mike brought him back.

"So, things really going okay with you guys?"

"With me and Mary? Yeah, things are great."

"She loves you. You know that, right?"

"Of course I do. I love her too." Danny snapped, a little offended that Mike felt the need to tell him something like that. He'd been doing everything in his power to make sure that Mary and everyone else knew how he felt and that he was totally committed to their relationship. There was no way he was going to mess this thing up again.

"Good, 'cause if you hurt her…I'll kick your ass," Mike told him, his eyes taking on a playful look so that his buddy knew he was only giving him a hard time.

"I promise you, Mike. After everything we've been through, if I hurt her I'll kick my own ass."

Their conversation was interrupted momentarily by the waitress and Mike gave her his order just as they heard a familiar voice behind them.

"Hey, wise guys, what the hell are you doing out here?" Ed said as he approached his two employees.

"Eating lunch," Mike answered, as if it was the most natural thing in the world to be dining while half-naked women lounged all around.

"What do you think this is, Hooters? We need to try to maintain some level of professionalism here."

"Aww, come on, Mr. D. We're celebrating Danny's triumphant return."

"Triumphant, huh?" Ed asked, giving his protégé a curious look.

"His words not mine," Danny assured him as Ed laid a hand on his shoulder.

"How you doin', kid?"

"I'm okay," Danny said, a little nervous at Ed's obvious display of affection.

"Good, cause I would hate to have to…," but whatever Ed was going to say was cut short as two detectives from Metro approached their table.

"What's up, guys?" Ed said by way of greeting, reaching out to shake their hands.

"Can we go upstairs to your office?" The taller one asked, glancing nervously at their surroundings.

"What's the matter, you don't like the view down here?" Ed joked. "My guys tell me it's the best on the Strip."

"Ed, we really would like to discuss this in private," the tone of the conversation turned more serious and Mike and Danny stood, providing silent support for their boss and mentor.

"Whatever you have to say you can say in front of Danny and Mike."

The two officers looked at each other before one of them reached out and took Ed's hand, pushing a pair of handcuffs onto his wrist. "Ed Deline, you're under arrest."

"Arrest for what?!" Danny demanded as he watched them lead the older man away.

"Suspicion of murder."


	5. Chapter 5

5-Poison Puzzles

"Hallick. That's the name of the dead guy, right?"

"Yeah, so much for an alibi," Danny told Mary, putting his hand on the small of her back as they walked back to the car. He'd enlisted her help in getting some information about Ed's whereabouts the day of the murder, but he truly wasn't expecting to hear that Ed had spent the entire afternoon with the man he was accused of murdering. Something was definitely going on and Danny knew if they were going to have any hope of clearing Ed they were going to need some help from the man himself.

As they walked along the grass towards the parking lot, Danny suddenly remembered their conversation with the grounds keeper. "Hey what was that stuff about me being your brother back there? You can't even pretend to be my wife?"

"Do you want me to pretend to be your wife?" Mary asked. The question was asked in a teasing tone so she truly wasn't prepared for his answer.

"I would prefer if you didn't have to pretend."

Mary's heart was racing. Had Danny just said what she thought he'd said? They had talked about moving in together, but was he really asking her to marry him? If he realized what he said, he didn't give any indication as he continued the conversation, "So, what was with the brother thing?"

Mary cleared her head and finally found her voice, "If I'd told him you were my boyfriend his defenses would have gone up. I had to make him think he had a chance with me so I could get the information I needed."

"That's pretty devious of you, Miss Connell."

"You grow up in Vegas with a rack like this you learn how to use it to your advantage." Mary quickened her pace so she could turn around and face Danny as they reached the edge of the parking lot where his car was parked. She leaned against the passenger door, reaching her hands out to run along the muscles of his chest as he approached, "Besides, I thought that's why you brought me along?"

"Well, I thought you'd just stand there and look pretty while I got him to tell me what I wanted to know." Danny's hands settled on Mary's hips as he grinned wolfishly at her.

Mary raised one perfectly manicured brow in mock-annoyance, "So that's all I am? An object of distraction?"

"You certainly distract me," Danny told her, leaning down to kiss her bare shoulder.

"Danny, stop. Someone will see," Mary's pleas were half-hearted as Danny's hands moved slowly up her arms, teasing her skin with a feather-soft touch.

"So….," he whispered in her ear right before he took the lobe into his mouth, biting down gently until he felt her shiver.

"So," Mary whispered back, her tone unconsciously matching his own. "I…I told that guy you were my brother."

Danny wasn't deterred. He moved his hands around her waist and pulled her body flush against his, their lips meeting in a deep, passionate kiss.

"Danny…please," Mary whimpered, finally finding the strength to push him back. "He's going to think we're…weird."

Danny growled, his eyes flashing with desire as he pulled Mary by the wrist away from the car. She yelped in surprise as he practically yanked her into a secluded clump of trees and continued his assault on her senses.

"Is this better?" He asked, a mischievous smile on his face. Mary giggled in response until Danny's lips on hers stopped all coherent thought. Insistent hands played at Mary's waist, pushing her shirt up just enough so he could feel the warmth of her bare skin while Mary's fingers ran rhythmically up and down his biceps. Their touching and kisses became more frantic and Danny knew they were going to have to stop. Never breaking their kiss, Danny moved his hands to her head, cradling her skull as he gently pulled her face away from his. He couldn't help but smile as he placed one last kiss on her lips before leaning back to gaze at her beautiful face. He could imagine the view before he even opened his eyes–her head back, mouth slightly open, lips swollen from his kisses. Suddenly, Mary's head felt heavy in his hands and he finally saw that her skin was pale and the body that had just been warm in his arms was now cold and stiff. He felt his heart stop as he looked into her unseeing eyes, rivers of crimson covering his hands. Danny wanted to scream, but all he could do was gasp for air. That's when the pain hit him–the searing pain and he collapsed forward, trapping Mary's body between himself and the small tree that had provided the shelter for their tryst.

"Danny? Danny?!?!"

He heard her calling to him; could feel her fingertips as they rubbed soothing circles at his temples and he tried desperately to clear the fog from his brain.

"Danny, can you hear me? Please, baby, look at me. LOOK AT ME, DANNY!"

"I'm okay," he finally managed. "It was … just a headache." He was able to support his weight now, releasing some of the burden from Mary's tiny frame, but he wasn't ready to let go of her yet.

"It came on so fast." Danny could hear the tears in her voice and he cursed his fractured psyche for scaring her. With his head still resting on her shoulder, he began placing soft kisses on her warm skin–trying to reassure himself just as much as her.

"You've got to take it easy, Danny. I know you're stressed about Ed, but…," Mary's voice trailed off leaving a million fears unsaid. Danny pulled back and caressed her cheek, kissing her forehead before pulling her close again.

"We better get back. I want to check and see if I can figure out who this Siegel guy is that played with Ed and Hallick."

"Are you sure? Maybe we should go home."

"No, I promise I'm fine." Danny hoped he sounded convincing because he really wasn't so sure. The headache had been excruciating, but it was the vision that came before it that worried him the most. The doctor had called them mini-seizures, but he hadn't had one since the first week he'd been home from the hospital. Danny made a mental note to make an appointment so he could put both of their minds at ease.

---

"So, why aren't the guys helping with this?" Nessa asked as she sat with Sam, Mary and Delinda waiting for the next round of prospective tenants.

"I'm sure Danny's still pouting because he had to partner with all of us on the house," Sam said distractedly as she glanced at the applications in her hands.

"That's not true, Sam," Mary tried to defend him. "He and Mike are trying to help Ed."

"Yeah well, I still say he's pissed. I mean why would Danny want to buy the house all on his own if it wasn't so he could keep all the profits to himself," Sam sounded annoyed as she ripped several applications in half and tossed them to the side.

"It had nothing to do with profits, Sam," Mary insisted. "Danny wanted to buy the house to live in."

"Don't be silly. That house is way too big for just one guy," Delinda said, winking at the group of fireman who were congregated at the door waiting for their interview. Silence settled over the group as the wheels began to turn in Sam's head. A look of regret marred her face as she glanced at Nessa who was staring at her pointedly.

"You can really be stupid sometimes, Samantha," the British woman said, tilting her head towards Mary.

"Stupid about what?" Delinda asked still clueless, her eyes never leaving the gaggle of men.

"Wow, I totally missed that one," Sam apologized. "Maybe the two of you can buy the rest of us out."

"It's okay, Sam. And thank you for the offer, but we decided that it's not the right time anyway. Danny was excited about it at first, but now he really wants to wait until we can build something. So your plan to make us all filthy rich can remain intact." The truth was she had been the one to put the breaks on the house idea. It had taken some finesse in her argument, but she finally made Danny realize that they weren't in the right place yet to take on the added responsibilities and stress of a mortgage. They'd compromised and decided that Danny would let the lease on his apartment expire at the end of the month and officially move into Mary's duplex. She was even more convinced they had made the right decision after the incident at the golf course this morning.

"Good," Sam smiled. "I just don't want to be the one to keep you two apart."

"That would be some seriously bad karma," Delinda added, turning her attention back to her friends. "Now, what were we talking about?"

Sam and Nessa both rolled their eyes at the blonde, but Mary found herself reaching behind her to try to assuage the itching on her back. It had been bothering her all afternoon and now it was starting to burn.

Noticing the redhead squirming in her seat, Nessa spoke, "What's wrong?"

"My back itches. I think something might have bitten me," Mary said, twisting her back against the cushions of the couch to try to get some sort of relief before turning away from her friends so Nessa could hopefully figure out the source of her discomfort.

She wasn't expecting her friend to gasp in horror, "Mary, what happened?"

"What is it?" she asked, trying to turn her head so she could see what had her friend so freaked out.

"Your back is covered in some sort of hives."

"Whoa," she heard Sam say as she felt someone pull the zipper of her dress down, most likely to get a better look.

"It must have been something on the tree at the golf course," Mary said, still trying to twist her arm far enough behind her to get at the offending area.

"What tree and what were you doing at the golf course?"

"I was helping Danny. It must have been when we were…," Mary stopped suddenly and turned to face her friends. Realizing that she had their rapt attention, she decided to give them the Cliff's Notes version of the story. "…leaning against a tree."

"Please tell me it's just on your back," Sam cringed, assuming that Mary was leaving a big portion of the incident out.

"Yes, it's just on my back! Get your mind out of the gutter, Sam."

"Oooh, I once had a rash on my…"

"STOP!" Nessa held up her hand to stop Delinda's story.

"But…"

"Delinda, please…spare us," Sam agreed.

"No one ever wants to hear my stories," she pouted, before turning her attention back to the firemen.

"You really should try not to scratch it." Sam moved to the other side of the couch, grabbing Mary's shoulders in an effort to still her frantic movements. It was as if the minute she'd heard the word hives the need to scratch had become overwhelming.

"Easy for you to say!"

"Look, let's just get through this last interview and then one of us will take you home."

---

"You look tired, kid." Ed handed Danny a cup of coffee as they waited for the pilot to ready the Montecito jet for take off. Once they were all working together it hadn't taken long to identify and locate the man who had framed Ed. Now they just needed to put the plan into place to get him back to Las Vegas.

"I didn't get much sleep. Mary's got poison oak so she was up all night miserable. I bought out the pharmacy and we tried every home remedy known to man, but we ended up going to the emergency clinic. I'm not sure if it actually helped with the itching, but the stuff they gave her knocked her out so at least she could get some rest."

"God, that's rough."

"Yeah, I actually got a few light patches on my arms, but the doctor thinks I probably washed my hands not long after we were exposed. I feel so bad for Mary though. It's all over her back-- which is good since she can't really scratch it, but it's bad…because she can't really scratch it."

"How the hell did she get poison oak on her back?" Mike asked, joining them in the charter terminal.

"Uhhh," Danny looked at the other men nervously, trying to think of the best way to explain their little romp in the brush. He knew no matter how he tried to explain it was going to sound bad so he just decided to keep his mouth shut, "Long story."

"So, you got everything ready, Mikey?" Ed turned to the other man and Danny was glad for the change of subject.

"Yes, sir, Mr. D. Tolliver won't know which way is up when we get through with him."

"Good. Everything'll be set up at the Montecito when you get back. Have a safe flight." Ed patted both boys on the back and headed out of the building. As soon as Mike saw he'd cleared the door he turned to Danny with an eager look on his face.

"So spill, man. What were you two doing in the woods?"

"A gentleman never tells, Mike," Danny smirked, standing up to head towards the plane.

"Gentleman? You've gone from GQ to DQ, Danny."

"What are you talking about?" He asked, giving his friend an amused look.

"I mean you've gone cold and s-o-f-t; soft."

Danny just rolled his eyes at Mike as they boarded the plane. He was anxious to get this situation under control so he could get back to Mary. He felt bad leaving her–especially since it was his fault she was in her current condition, but the girls promised to take turns checking up on her so he felt a little better. He just hoped the little scheme they'd cooked up to bring Tolliver in worked. If he got away they'd never be able to clear Ed's name.

---

It was almost 3:00 in the morning by the time Danny got home, but he had a spring in his step because everything had gone exactly as planned. They'd managed to get Tolliver back to the Montecito and Danny was certain it had been his "tough guy goomba" comment that had ultimately garnered the confession. It had been his plan all along–luring Tolliver into a false sense of camaraderie so he'd share his secrets. It was the perfect setup and Danny couldn't help but mentally pat himself on the back as he headed up the sidewalk towards Mary's place–_their place_. The thought made him smile even more.

"You know, I've always had a thing for redheads."

The voice startled Danny out of his thoughts and he turned to see Arnie Siegel standing just behind him on the walk. His heart was suddenly racing with worry and he bolted towards the door, trying desperately to get his key in the lock. "I swear, Siegel, if you've hurt her…"

"Relax, McCoy. She's fine. I haven't touched her. I'm just here as a courtesy."

Danny looked through the window next to the door. He could see Mary curled up on the couch, the soft light from the television giving her face an ethereal glow.

A cold hard stare settled on his face as he turned his attention back to the older man who was still talking, "I was impressed with the way you got the information out of me. Using your connections to get my jobsite shut down…genius. You knew just how to get to me." There was no mistaking where Siegel was going with all of this and Danny couldn't keep himself from glancing inside again at Mary's sleeping form, an action that did not go unnoticed by the other man. "Obviously, Ed hasn't schooled you on the drawbacks of working with the Company."

"I don't work for the Company. I was just helping out a friend."

"You're more involved than you think, Danny, and you need to be prepared for how that's going to affect the people around you," Siegel had joined Danny on the porch and his eyes drifted inside the house, "…the ones you love."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Danny ground out, his jaw clenched. "Involved, how?"

"They've had their eye on you for awhile. Why do you think Ed hired you?"

Danny grabbed him by the collar and held him hard against the wall, but Siegel's age masked his skill and he reversed their positions before Danny had a chance to react. "Did he make you think it was your idea?" He asked, taunting the younger man.

"Why did you come here?" Danny struggled hard against the other man's surprising strength.

"Because I wanted to torture you. You really pissed me off and I just wanted to return the favor." Siegel released his hold, brushing some imaginary lint off his shirt before heading back towards his car. "Ed was right about you. You're not ready."

All the confidence and bravado Danny had felt in the days before vanished. What the hell was going on? Ed had wanted him to stay out of this, right? Danny had been the one who'd pushed. Had his boss known that this might put Mary in danger? That question immediately sent Danny's mind racing back to the hallucination that had haunted him since yesterday and his stomach turned at the thought. The shadowy associates, the secret meetings, all the things Ed had kept from him about this case came to the front of his mind and he wondered what else the man might be hiding. Taking a few steps towards Siegel's retreating form, he called out, "What did you mean about Ed?"

"Ask him."

_Author's Notes: This was written long before spoilers came out for Cheating, Fleeting, Meeting so it was all my idea for Danny to want the house for him and Mary. Shame on GST for turning it into a ploy to give Delinda her dream house. lol_


	6. Chapter 6

_Hands of Time_

"Please, please, please, Mare. You have to go. It won't be the same without you."

Delinda had resorted to begging now as she and Mary swiftly made their way across the casino floor.

"Sweetie, I'm sorry. Danny's friend is in town and we're having a barbecue." Sgt Kent Beckner had called last week to say that he and his family would be in Las Vegas for a few days and they wanted to get together. Mary smiled as she thought about how excited Danny was to see his old Marine buddy again as she quickly went through a mental checklist of what she still needed from the grocery store. 

"I still don't understand why the rest of us weren't invited."

"Because it's not that kind of party, Delinda. It's just the four of us and their baby–you'd be bored and besides you're going to hunt for buried treasure, remember?"

"This is how it starts, Mary."

Delinda stopped her friend's progress with a hand on her arm and Mary turned to look at her questioningly. "What are you talking about?"

"First, it's just a little barbecue that we're not invited to, then you're doing all sorts of 'couple' things, pretty soon you're getting married and having babies and we'll never see you again."

Mary tried not to laugh because she could see that Delinda was completely serious. Choosing her words carefully, she tried to put the blonde's mind at ease, "First of all, chill out on the marriage and baby talk--I don't want you to scare Danny-- and second, Delinda, we work with each other almost every day–of course you're going to see me."

"Yeah, but we won't have anything to talk about. You'll be all coupled up and we'll just be your lowly single friends that you're constantly trying to fix up with your eccentric neighbor Ted with the bad comb-over."

Now Mary really had to chuckle. "I don't have a neighbor named Ted," she assured her friend, heading towards the employee exit. "and I would never fix you up with anyone with a comb-over."

"Not even if he was rich?"

Mary rolled her eyes and gave Delinda a wave as she made her way through the heavy door and out to the parking lot. That girl's got some serious issues.

----  
Danny smiled widely as he watched Mary splash the baby up and down in the pool. She'd always been a natural with kids and if the squeals of delight were any indication, Danny could tell that Carter was loving his new playmate. For a moment he let himself wonder what their kids might be like, but a slap to his shoulder brought him out of his daydream.

"Man, you got it bad, McCoy. Look at that goofy grin on your face."

"Shut up, Beckner. I was just watching the kid. I think he's going to be a swimmer."

"Just like his old man." Kent Beckner was tall and lean, his physique toned from his early years as a competitive swimmer. He'd joined the Marines after college and been in the active reserves when they'd been called back to duty. Danny had worked with him quite often during his years on active duty and was pleased when he discovered Kent would be on his team on their last mission.

"You know, Connie and I are going to have another one," Kent supplied, taking a swig of his beer.

"You're kidding?" Danny looked back at Carter who couldn't be more than 7 or 8 months old.

"I guess you could say we got a little excited when I came home. She couldn't keep her hands off me." Kent's grin was smug and proud and it was Danny's turn to slap him on the shoulder.

"You little horn dog. Look who's got the goofy grin now."

Both men chuckled a bit before Kent replied, "It's still early, but she took the test before we came out here."

"Congratulations, buddy."

They turned back to watch Connie sitting on the steps, holding her arms out as Mary let Carter kick and splash his way towards his mother.

"So, when are you going to make an honest woman out of Mary? That's all you could talk about when we were over seas."

"Soon, I swear. This dating thing–being together–it's still new to us. I don't want her to have any doubt in her mind about us when I get down on one knee."

"Trust me, man. I'm a trained interrogator and I can see it in her eyes. She doesn't have any doubts."

"You think?"

"I know. Listen, Danny, don't wait too long. Life is short–you gotta make the most of it. You don't ever want to find yourself in a moment where you can't turn back the clock."

Kent's words were unsettling as Danny thought about the dreams that had been plaguing him. If the sergeant noticed the cloud that passed over the other man's face he didn't comment and went along when Danny changed the subject. 

"You talk to any of the other guys?"

"I talked to Hacker and Regalado last week. They're both…trying to readjust."

Sgt. Beckner's voice was hesitant and Danny noticed it immediately. "What is it?"

"Caffrey got killed."

"What? What the hell happened?"

"He got shot…by the cops."

Danny was shocked. Jason Caffrey had been one of the best men in his unit. He was strong and quick with his weapon, but it was his wit and charm that usually won people over. He was a good soldier and an even better man and Danny couldn't imagine what could have happened to cause such a tragedy.

Kent could tell that Danny didn't know how to respond so he took the opportunity to tell him what he knew. "He took his girlfriend hostage and when the police tried to intervene he raised a weapon–they had no choice but to shoot him."

"That doesn't make any sense, Kent. This is Jason we're talking about."

"I know. I called the girl; talked to her some …I had to know what happened. She said she didn't know what went wrong. They hadn't been fighting, but he'd been really paranoid since he got back. She said he'd been having nightmares, Danny."

The last statement caught Danny's attention and he looked up to see Kent staring straight at him. The look on each of their faces told the other one all they needed to know. They'd both been having the same problem.

"The doc put me on some sleeping pills," Danny supplied, still trying to wrap his mind around what all of this meant.

"Yeah, they gave me something too, but last week something happened. I started flailing in my sleep–I lashed out and hit Connie in the face. I've never been so freaked out in my life, Danny. I thought I'd broken her nose."

Danny's gaze quickly moved back to the girls. They were chatting quietly on the edge of the pool now–Carter passed out in Connie's arms while Mary softly stroked the tuft of hair that was still wet from the water.

"Something's not right, Danny. It hasn't been right since we got back and I can see by the look in your eye that you know it too."

"I've been hallucinating--seeing things that aren't there," Danny said, a startling chill running up and down his spine and a sick feeling settling in the pit of his stomach.

"Things that have nothing to do with what happened over there, right?"

Danny simply nodded, unable to take his eyes off of Mary's beautiful face as she helped Connie stand and wrapped herself in a towel.

"Do you think it's possible they did something to us, Danny? Messed with our heads somehow?"

He turned back to look at Kent, but before he could respond he felt two arms wrap around him from behind. "You two look so serious over here? What are you talking about?" Mary asked as she moved around Danny, standing on her tip toes to give him a soft kiss on the lips.

"I hope it's those steaks because I'm starving," Connie said as she walked up to kiss Kent on the cheek. "I'm going to go change Carter and see if he'll let me put him down for a real nap."

"I'll help you, sweetie," Kent told her, sharing one last look with Danny before he followed his wife inside.

"Is everything okay, baby?" Mary's voice was soft and full of concern and Danny ran the pad of his thumb across the worry line that creased her forehead. She had always been able to read his moods and he knew that sooner or later he was going to have to come clean with her about all of this. She'd noticed the change in his relationship with Ed almost immediately. Danny had decided not to confront him about Siegel's comments, but the lingering doubt about his boss and mentor troubled him immensely. Some days Danny felt like he was losing his mind–like he was paranoid of everything and everyone and he thought quickly of Corporal Caffrey. Had he felt this way too?

Danny leaned down and softly kissed the tip of Mary's nose before covering her mouth with his own and wrapping her in a tight embrace. He needed to talk to Kent again and he needed to sit down with Ed.  
---

"So, we've got all the schedules done and we should have plenty of security in place for the auction tonight."

Danny glanced up at the monitors as he listened to what Mike was saying. He and Kent had not had a chance to talk again last night so they'd made plans to meet for coffee that afternoon and Danny had been distracted all day thinking about what might be going on.

"Good," he responded, shuffling through the papers Mike had handed him. "Make sure you double check everyone's ID and match it with the guest list. This is an exclusive event and Ed wants to make sure no one gets in that's not supposed to be there. The last thing we need is…," Danny's sentence stopped as he looked back up at the monitor. All at once everything seemed to be spinning in slow motion and Danny dropped his head into his hands, trying to ward off the headache that was rapidly filling his brain.

"Danny?"

"Yeah?" _Was that his voice? Why did everything sound like it was so far away?  
_  
"Danny? Danny, can you hear me?"

Just as suddenly as it began everything stopped and Danny slowly raised his head to look at his friend.

"Jeez, man, what the hell happened?"

"Nothing, I guess I just spaced out for a second," shaking off the fog, Danny tried to get back to their conversation. "Anyway, what I was saying was that we need to make sure we don't have any protestors at the auction. The Ravinias are trusting us to make sure this whole thing goes smoothly."

Danny looked at Mike and noticed that his expression was quite perplexed and tinged with worry. "Danny, what are you talking about?"

"Russian jewels…the auction…ring any bells, Mikey?"

"Yeah, it does…from two days ago. The auction was yesterday and everything went fine. We were talking about the Clint Black concert."

Confused, Danny looked quickly around the room and noticed the date on all the monitors. He started to turn back to Mike–to chastise his buddy about the trick he was trying to pull, but the frightened look on Mike's face told Danny that he wasn't joking. Somehow Danny had lost two days and the sick feeling he'd had for weeks suddenly bubbled to the surface as he reached for the nearest trash can and threw up the contents of his stomach.


	7. Chapter 7

_Remember, Remember…_

"Don't you guys have work to do?" Ed grumbled as he noticed Mike and several other members of his security staff milling around outside one of the interrogation rooms.

"We're just worried about him," Mike responded while everyone else nodded in agreement.

Ed sighed. He'd been pulling into his parking space when Mike called–his voice frantic. It took Ed a few moments to completely understand what he was saying, but the mention of Danny's name in the frenzied conversation had caused the older man to quicken his pace. He would only admit to himself that the fact Danny had apparently blacked out and forgotten the last two days scared him to death and he was determined to get to the bottom of whatever was plaguing his security chief. Of course, he'd never let his staff know just how affected he was.

"Well, get back to work. I'm not paying you to sit around worrying."

Most of the staff turned and headed back to their posts, but Mike hung back.

"Just go, Mikey." Ed put a reassuring hand on the younger man's arm. "I'll take care of it."

When he was sure that everyone had cleared the hallway, Ed took a deep breath and stepped into the room with Danny.

"How's it going, kid?"

"Just great," Danny replied with false enthusiasm. "All the padded rooms were full so Mike stuck me in here."

"Glad to know that your smartass hasn't been affected by whatever the hell is going on with you." Ed pulled out another chair at the table and took a seat across from Danny.

"What the hell is going on?"

Danny sighed, running both his hands down his face before looking Ed in the eye. "Honestly, nothing. I haven't been feeling well. Headaches left over from the brain injury." 

"Headaches? So, that's why you had a major nutty in my security room?"

"A nutty? Is that what Mike told you? Jesus, Ed, I just spaced out for a second. It happens to everyone. I'm fine."

"You still talking to that shrink?"

"Yes, and I'm being a good boy and taking all my medicine, _Dad_."

Ed regarded Danny for a long moment. Being so blasé and disrespectful wasn't like Danny and that worried Ed almost as much as the earlier incident.

"I want permission to talk to your doctors."

"What?" Danny stood abruptly from his chair, knocking it over in the process. He towered over Ed in a vain effort to intimidate the man, but Ed was not about to back down.

"If I'm entrusting the well-being of a billion dollar casino to someone I want to make sure they're operating on all cylinders."

"So now you don't trust me? That's rich coming from you."

That caught him off guard and he stared at the younger man who was now pacing the length of the room like a caged animal. "Danny, what are you talking about?"

"Forget it. Ask them whatever you want. I don't care. Are we done now?" Danny had already opened the door before Ed spoke again.

"Danny…"

"Look, Mike called Mary to come pick me up and she's going to be here soon. If he told her what he told you then I'd kinda like to meet her downstairs so she doesn't come tearing through the casino scared to death."

Ed stood concerned as he watched Danny retreat down the hallway. Taking a few long strides, he called out to him again and Danny stopped but did not turn around.

"No matter how hard you try to push me away, Danny, I'm always going to have your back."

Danny's shoulders slumped almost imperceptibly before he continued down the hall.

---

Mary had barely put the car in park in front of the Montecito before Danny was jumping inside. One look at his face told her that he needed to get away from the casino so she maneuvered her way back out onto the strip and headed towards home. Danny had grabbed her hand as soon as they were on the road and had yet to let go, but suddenly in the silence of the car it wasn't enough. Quickly pulling into a parking lot, they were in each other's arms the moment she turned off the car. They stayed that way forever–Danny's face buried in her neck while Mary's hands ran gently through his hair–her hot, silent tears soaking his shirt.

There was no doubt in her mind that Danny was exhausted, but she needed to know what had happened–needed to hear it from him and she finally pulled back, her eyes asking the question that her voice could not and she was definitely not prepared for the question that he offered in return.

"Where was I yesterday?" His voice sounded small and hoarse and it scared her almost as much as what he was asking.

"You were with Kent all day. You played golf." Mary tried to make her answer as calm as possible. It would not do Danny any good for her to be freaking out as well.

"Are you sure?"

"You took your clubs and told me you were going to play golf."

"Did I talk to you at all?"

"A couple of times, but you didn't say anything other than what time you'd be home."

"And after I got home? Was I okay?"

"You seemed tired and you said you had a headache. What's the last thing you remember, Danny?"

"I was talking to Mike about security for the auction Tuesday night and all of a sudden it was Thursday."

The sick lump that had formed in the pit of Mary's stomach when Mike had called her earlier was now stuck in her throat. This was way beyond headaches or the visions he'd been having and she couldn't stop the tears from slipping down her cheeks again as she thought about what this could mean.

"Danny, I think we should go to the hospital."

"NO!" he insisted, startling Mary with his vehemence. "No hospital. I don't want anyone messing with my head anymore. I just need to talk to Kent."

"They're on their way home right now. We can try them tonight so he can fill in some of the blanks for you, but that still doesn't change the fact that something's wrong, Danny. You've got to get some help."

"Not until I know who's doing this to me."

"Danny, what are you talking about? You were hurt, baby, and this is just something…"

"I think they did something to us over there."

"That doesn't make any sense. Why would you think that?"

"Because it's not just me. It's happening to all of us."

---

After Danny's revelation Mary had been shocked and frightened and angry and she wasn't sure how she should respond. She'd driven them the rest of the way home and helped Danny inside, neither one of them saying a word until she had Danny safely seated on the lid of the toilet while she rooted through the bathroom cabinet.

"You're looking for the fussy baby stuff, aren't you?"

The sound of his voice after such a long silence was a bit of a surprise, but at the same time a great relief. "It's lavender bubble bath, Danny."

"It's for fussy babies, Mary."

"So?" Mary sat on the edge of the large tub, turning the faucet and testing the water until it was a suitable temperature.

"I'm sorry I told you all that stuff in the car. You think I'm crazy, don't you?"

"I don't think you're crazy, Danny," she responded, reaching down to plug the drain.

"Then why haven't you said anything?" Danny's voice was pleading and she finally turned to look into his eyes.

"Because I don't know what to say."

"Because you think I'm crazy?" Danny asked again.

"Because I know that you're not," Mary responded, exasperated, "and because now…I'm terrified." A lone tear slipped down her cheek and Danny reached out to wipe it away with the pad of his thumb.

"I'm sorry, baby. The last thing I wanted to do was scare you."

Danny kissed her tenderly before Mary leaned back to speak. "What did Ed say when you told him about your suspicions?"

"Ed doesn't know anything about this."

"What?" Mary asked, surprised. "I would think he would be the first person you'd go to with this."

"I don't trust anyone but you anymore, Mary. Not even Ed."

"Danny, that's ridiculous. Ed would never do anything to hurt you."

"I can't explain it, but I just have this feeling. I need you to promise that you'll keep this to yourself–at least until I have a better idea of what's going on."

Mary closed her eyes and dropped her chin, nodding her head in acquiescence. It bothered her tremendously that Danny had somehow lost faith in Ed, but if he thought it was for the best then Mary would do as he asked. "What are you going to do?"

"The first thing I'm going to do is change doctors. I want to get away from anyone the military recommended."

"I want to go with you."

"Of course, baby," Danny cupped her cheek with his hand, touching his forehead to hers. "I'll set up the appointments tomorrow."

At Danny's revelation that he would be seeing a doctor soon, Mary suddenly felt her body flood with relief followed closely by exhaustion. The last hour had been emotionally draining and she needed to feel her connection with Danny--to feel him close to her and know that he was safe. She softly met his lips, running her hands up both of his thighs as they sat facing each other.

"Mmmm, do we still have to use the fussy baby stuff?"

Mary chuckled a bit and sat back before speaking, "I'll give you a choice. You can take a nice, long, hot bath with me and the lavender bubbles or you can take a cold shower by yourself with your Lever2000."

To emphasize her point, Mary stood and slowly started to remove her clothes. Danny watched with rapt attention as first her shirt and then pants made their way to the floor. Unhooking the clasp of her bra but still holding it in place, she hesitated, a playful look dancing in her eyes, "Do you need some more time to think about it?"

Matching her mischievous smile, Danny reached for the plastic bottle, unscrewing the cap and dumping the entire contents into the water.

---

"Still no answer?" Mary asked as she set a plate of waffles in front of Danny. He'd been trying since last night to reach Kent and he was getting increasingly frustrated with each call that went unanswered. 

"No," Danny replied, setting the phone down and taking a huge bite of his breakfast. They had called in sick that morning--something truly out of character for them, but both agreed that they needed the break after yesterday's scare. Of course their absence had not gone unnoticed and Ed had already called Mary to inquire about Danny's condition. When he'd voiced his concerns about Danny's attitude towards him it had taken everything in her to feign ignorance on the subject. If Danny wanted this to be between them then that's where it would stay…for now.

As she removed her own waffle from the iron and headed back to the table she heard Danny's cell phone chime.

"Finally," he yelled, opening the phone and not giving the other person a chance to respond. "Where the hell have you been, man? I've been going nuts trying to get a hold of you."

Mary smiled a little as she watched Danny on the phone, but her smile faded as she suddenly noticed all the color draining from his face. Mary could only hear one side of the conversation, but with each phrase Danny uttered her heart sank further into despair.

"When?"

"Where?"

"And Carter?"

"I'm so sorry."

"Yes, thank you."

Snapping his phone shut, Danny dropped his head into his hands.

"What happened?" Mary finally asked, unable to wait any longer.

"There was an accident last night. They lost control of the car and it ended up in the lake. A passerby was able to pull Carter out–he's going to be okay, but Kent and Connie…"

Danny was cut off by Mary's strangled sob and he instantly had her in his arms, placing tender kisses on her head as he gently rocked them back and forth. He tried to concentrate on Mary–on comforting her as much as he could so he wouldn't have to face the fear that had settled in his gut, but the nagging feeling would not go away. The only person who could fill in Danny's missing time was dead and he couldn't help but think that there was no way in hell that was just a coincidence.


	8. Chapter 8

**Thank you for all the kind reviews. I'm currently up to Chapter 15 on this story and I'm going to try to get it finished before the finale airs. It won't all be posted here by that time, but I at least want to finish it before the actual show destroys all my inspiration. With the recent news that Nikki Cox is not reprising her role as Mary next season I'm not sure that I'll even watch the show much less be able to write fanfic. I guess it all depends on how things end for Mary next week. I currently have one other story in progress which I am determined to finish so after Dreaming is complete I'll start posting that one. It's more of a relationship story unlike some of my action/adventure pieces. I hope everyone will keep reading and maybe I'll be inspired to keep the Danny and Mary saga alive in fanfic. Thanks again for the support! Emmy**

_8-Stolen Future, Missing Past_

"How's it going, Arnie?"

The voice startled the Arnie Siegal and he spun around quickly, unconsciously reaching for a weapon that he no longer carried. "Jesus, Ed! What do I have to do to get you to make an appointment like a normal person?"

"You could start by telling me what the hell you know about Danny McCoy."

"Tall, kinda slow, really annoying," Arnie Siegel replied, as he dropped several roles of blueprints on his desk.

"Don't piss me off, Arnie. Why have Danny's medical records been sealed by the DOD?"

"Maybe he forgot to get a referral. Those HMO's can be hell."

That was the last straw for Ed and he lunged at the other man, slamming his face down on the desk. He may be older and smaller, but Ed could still take down an ox with one punch. "You don't start answering some questions you won't have to worry about losing your permits because you won't be around to build anything."

Ed had spent the better part of yesterday trying to get access to Danny's records, but to no avail. He'd finally intimidated a poor records clerk into telling him that the records had been sealed and after further inquiry he'd learned that the majority of them had been sent to Washington.

"Look," Arnie winced, struggling against the hold. "I've told you before that I'm not in the company anymore."

"But you know something. I signed up for this Arnie and I'll take whatever's coming, but if they're messing with Danny..."

"Bullshit," he spat out. "You knew from the beginning that Danny was on the list for recruitment."

Ed bristled at that statement, but there was no denying it. Yes, they'd approached him about recruiting Danny, but he'd done everything in his power to discourage his involvement.

"Is that what they're trying to do? Recruit him?" Ed asked as he slowly pulled Arnie back up and released his arm.

"I don't know, but whatever is going on it's not just Danny."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Arnie was still rubbing his shoulder and he glanced out the window before replying, "Listen, all I know is that it was some kind of experiment."

"Who was running it?"

Arnie had moved around the desk and taken a seat, trying to regain some sense of control in the situation. "Officially--PsyOps, but this was deep, Ed."

"Mind control?"

"Among other things--always trying to build a better soldier."

Ed's stomach was doing flip-flops as he thought about all the things the CIA was capable of. They'd use Danny up and spit him out like he didn't matter and Ed wasn't sure if there was anything he could do to stop it.

---

Danny and Mary sat side by side in the living room of Connie and Kent's home. Danny was talking quietly with a man named Steve who had worked with Kent while Mary held Carter in her lap–the baby having attached himself to her almost as soon as she walked through the door. The mood at the funerals–separate at the request of Connie's family–had been sad and awkward. Kent didn't have any family and it was obvious that Connie's family had cared very little for him and even less once they'd learned that the accident that had taken the life of their daughter and her husband had been his fault. Danny and Mary had been received politely, but not warmly and they'd agreed to simply give their condolences and leave Connie's family to their grief and anger.

They'd both been in a state of shock since the phone call informing them about the accident and were still having trouble coming to grips with the fact that the couple that had been so happy and vibrant in their home four days ago was now gone.

"I don't care what Connie's family says. Kent would have never been driving recklessly. He never would have done anything to put his family in danger," the young man finally said after a few moments of silence. Danny had been thinking the same thing and he was glad that he wasn't the only one.

"What do you know about the accident, Steve?"

Danny had been reluctant to ask anyone for details, but he'd been anxious to learn as much as he could to see if there was anything that seemed out of the ordinary.

"My brother was the first officer on the scene. Another driver had already stopped and pulled Carter out of the car, but he couldn't get back to Connie and Kent. The guy said they were driving along fine and then Kent just started weaving back and forth and then he just veered off the road into the water."

"Was there anything in the road?" Mary asked. She'd been listening the whole time-- just as curious as Danny about the circumstances of the crash.

"No, nothing. Weather was clear too–not a cloud in the sky."

"Steve, do you think you could take us to where it happened?"

Danny wasn't sure what seeing the scene would do, but for some reason he felt the need to put himself in Kent's place and try to figure out if there was anything he could have done to stop it.

Just as they were getting ready to say their goodbyes, Connie's mother entered the room carrying what looked to be Kent's duffle bag and dropped it unceremoniously at Danny's feet.

"You're the only one I could think of that might want some of these things. If not, feel free to throw them away."

Danny was speechless–her callousness catching him off guard–and it was Mary who finally responded. "Carter might want to see it someday. You don't want to keep any of it for him?"

"No," was the woman's only reply as she took the baby from Mary's arms and left the room.

---

Mary shielded her eyes from the sun as they stood on the side of the road. They'd parked about 100 yards from where the car had gone into the lake and Danny was scanning the shoulder for any signs of debris that might give a clue as to what had happened. Mary couldn't help but look at the guardrail to her left, which had been hastily repaired after the accident. A chill ran down her spine as she thought about what Connie must have been going through in those seconds before it happened. Was it possible Kent was having some sort of episode like the ones Danny had been having? Mary knew that he'd been having some similar symptoms, but since Danny still did not remember anything about his afternoon with Kent they weren't sure the extent of those symptoms.

While Danny and Steve talked about blowouts and traffic patterns, Mary watched a pleasure boat make its way across the water–the occupants laughing and dancing. As the boat momentarily passed behind a large video sign marking the entrance to what looked like some sort of water theme park, she briefly wondered if she and Danny would ever be able to relax like that again. No matter how hard they tried, every moment was spent worrying about his health and though neither one of them had voiced their fear, the last few days had been spent wondering if they would someday face the same fate as their friends, the Beckners.

---

"Hey, Mike, can you come up here." Ed was quickly ascending the steps as he asked the younger man to join him.

"What's up, Mr. D." Sensing that this was important, Mike slid the door closed behind him and took a seat in front of his boss.

"I want you to track Danny's movements."

"But he's at the funeral," Mike responded, a little confused.

"I don't mean now. I mean during the time that he can't remember."

Mike was quiet for a moment. He'd known that Danny wasn't being completely honest with them about that incident, but it was scary to hear his boss actually acknowledge it.

"I'll get on it right away."

Mike jumped up and headed for the door, but Ed had one more thing to say, "Keep it to yourself."

"Yes, sir."

---

As Mary came out of the shower she found Danny looking through Kent's bag, shaking his head in disgust as he noticed how his friend's dress uniform had been haphazardly crammed in amid the other remnants of his time in the Marines. Laying it on the bed, he smoothed it as best he could before fingering the gold buttons almost reverently.

"We can have it cleaned and pressed, Danny. It will be good as new," Mary assured him as she ran her hand up his back.

"Yeah, I guess," he responded reaching into the bag to see what else was inside. Pulling out a set of goggles, Danny chuckled to himself. "That little devil. We were supposed to turn these back in."

"What are they?"

"Night vision goggles. Supposed to be some sort of new technology they were trying out, but there was something wrong with them. They made everything look distorted. Kent called them his beer goggles–I believe his exact words were, 'Damn, these things even make McCoy look pretty.'"

"Sounds like he gave you a hard time?" Mary smiled.

"It was all in good fun. He was a great guy, Mary. He doesn't deserve for people to think bad things about him."

"I know, sweetie."

"I don't want Carter to grow up thinking bad things about him."

"Well, we'll make sure he knows the truth someday."

"God, I just can't believe this is all happening," Danny sighed, sitting down on the edge of the other bed and dropping his head into his hands. "I don't know what to think anymore, Mary. I don't know what to do and that scares me more than anything."

Mary crossed to him and opened her mouth to respond–she wanted so badly to tell him that everything was going to be alright, that they were going to get through this together, but somehow the words sounded hollow in her head. She wanted so much to believe that their love would see them through, but her confidence had been shaken in the last week. Falling to her knees, she reached up and took Danny's face in her hands–pulling him closer so she could capture his lips. The day had been emotionally draining, but if Mary was completely honest, almost every day since Danny had come back to her had been the same way. Just for tonight she needed to forget how messed up their lives were, how worried she was that she would lose him and remember that the only thing that mattered right now was that they were together.


	9. Chapter 9

9-_Goodbye, My Love_

Danny woke with a start and quickly scanned the hotel room to see what had disturbed his first peaceful slumber in weeks. The air was ice cold and the light from the television was casting an eerie glow. Making sure that Mary was covered Danny rolled out of bed to try to adjust the air conditioner, but when he reached the window he noticed that it wasn't even turned on. Shaking his head in confusion, he grabbed an extra blanket and headed back to bed. As he sat down he grabbed the remote from the nightstand so he could turn off the television, but the image on the screen caught his attention.

It was Mary. Her smile was radiant in what looked to be the photo from her Montecito identification badge. Danny's brow furrowed as he slowly increased the volume so he could hear what the newscaster was saying.

"Once again, ladies and gentlemen, the body found this morning at the Downtown Hilton has been identified as that of twenty-seven year old Mary Leigh Connell. Ms. Connell was found bludgeoned to death in her hotel suite this morning and police are looking for _this_ man in connection with the slaying."

Danny had been in complete shock since he'd heard the word "body" but he was pulled from that trance as a picture of himself flashed on the screen. "Daniel McCoy is to be considered armed and dangerous and anyone having information on his whereabouts should contact the police immediately."

This wasn't real. It couldn't be real. Mary was fine. She was here next to him and she was fine. Turning his gaze to the woman lying in the bed, Danny pulled back the covers and reached a hand out to touch her shoulder–a hand that he now noticed was covered in blood. In fact, as he looked down he realized everything was covered in blood. Not wasting another moment he quickly turned Mary over to face him and his heart stopped.

She was dead. There was no question in his mind. Her once beautiful face was hidden behind streaks of blood and Danny could see horrible bruises on her neck as if she'd been violently strangled along with the beating she'd received. Struggling to catch his breath as sobs wracked his body, Danny pulled her to his chest.

"What have I done?" he gasped. "I'm so sorry, baby. I don't know what happened, Mary. I don't understand. I'm so sorry." Danny was crying uncontrollably and it took him a moment to notice that someone was touching him. Soft, but firm hands were running soothingly up and down his back and he wondered who could have come into the room. If it was the police he wished they would just shoot him. There was no place for him in this world without her and no way could he ever live knowing what he'd done.

"Ssshhh, baby. It's okay. Everything's okay."

Recognizing the voice he whipped his head to the side and came face to face with the last person he expected. "It's time to let her go," the blonde said, her tone flat and emotionless.

"But, Delinda…," Danny could barely speak as he tried in vain to suppress his sobs.

"It's time for us to move on, Danny. We've wasted enough time as it is."

"What are you talking about?"

"Mary made her choice and now she has to live with the consequences," Delinda let out a sound somewhere between a hiccup and a giggle before correcting herself. "Well, you know what I mean."

"NOOOO!!!!!!!" he screamed, dragging Mary's lifeless body from the bed and putting as much distance as he could between them and the other woman in the room.

As he crouched down near the door, Mary still cradled in his arms, he looked back at Delinda, his eyes filled with hatred. "Why are you doing this to us?"

"Danny, honey, you're alright." The reply was not what he expected and it was made even more disturbing by the fact that he could see her lips moving, but it wasn't her voice that sounded in his ears. Banging his head back against the door he tried to regain his senses and when he looked to her again she was gone, but the voice was not.

"Wake up, Danny. It's just a dream."

Those soft words combined with someone caressing his face finally registered and he reluctantly pulled Mary's body away from him, his eyes squeezing tightly shut for fear of the scene that would assault him if he dared to open them again. Danny could feel the gentle touch–on his neck, in his hair, across his face. Her thumbs softly smoothed across his brow until he finally found the courage to open his eyes. And when he did she was there–only a worried gaze marring her beautiful features.

"Mary," he croaked, his throat hoarse from crying.

"I'm here, Danny. It's just you and me, baby. It was just a dream."

He quickly scanned the room noticing that they were indeed alone, still in bed in fact, and when he turned to the television that only moments before had been reporting Mary's death it was filled with vertical lines of color indicating the station was off the air. Looking down at his hands he realized that they were clean and the once chilly room now felt like a fiery inferno.

"You were…I thought…"

"What? What happened in your dream?" She asked quietly, her hands never stopping their comforting journey across his skin.

He wanted to tell her, his mouth was open poised to speak, but he stopped. Danny couldn't bring himself to tell her what he'd imagined–what his subconscious had conjured up and in that moment he realized two things. He couldn't waste any more time in figuring out what was happening to him and he needed to keep Mary safe–even if that meant from himself.

"Danny?"

"It was…it was just a dream. It's already starting to fade," he lied, wrapping his arms tightly around her body as he laid them back down.

"Are you sure?" she asked, her voice laced heavy with concern.

"Yeah, sweetie. I promise." Danny kissed her head before reaching for the remote and plunging the room into darkness. "Let's just go back to sleep okay? We've got an early flight and tomorrow is going to be a long day."

---

"Does your head still hurt?"

"No."

"Are you sure you don't want to take something before we get on the plane?"

"Yep."

Mary sighed in frustration at Danny's answers. She was having a hard time getting him to talk to her about anything as they waited near the gate for their flight to be called. He'd started the morning by joining her in the shower–an intense round of lovemaking leaving her almost unable to stand, but since then he had been distant and aloof, his curt replies to her questions barely one step above ignoring her altogether.

"Danny, are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine, Mary. I'm a big boy and I can take care of myself."

"What is that supposed to mean?" She asked, a little hurt that he would take such a belligerent tone with her.

"It just means I don't want you to worry. So relax and read your magazine."

Danny jumped up as they started to issue the boarding calls for their flight. "Why don't you go grab us a seat and I'll try giving Ed a call before we take off. I'll meet you on the plane."

Before Mary could protest, Danny flipped open his cell phone and disappeared towards the coffee shop.

---

"McCoy Construction." 

"Hey, Dad," Danny said as he made his way through the airport.

"Hey, son. You back in town already?"

"Dad, I need your help," Danny stated, ignoring his father's question.

"Sure…anything."

"I need you to pick up Mary at the airport."

"Okay," Larry agreed, a little confused.

"She's going to be really upset, Dad, so I need you to take care of her for me."

"Danny, what's going on? Has something happened to Mary?"

"Not yet and I want to keep it that way. Promise me…promise me you'll take care of her." Danny knew he sounded desperate and that it was only going to add to his father's worry, but the circumstances of Kent's accident combined with his dream last night had convinced him that he couldn't take any more chances–especially where Mary was concerned.

"You know I will, Danny, but please tell me what's going on."

"I don't know how long I'm going to be gone so I just need you to do this for me."

"Danny…" 

"I love you, Dad."

"Son…," Larry tried again, but Danny still wouldn't let him speak.

"You and Mary….you're my whole life and I just wanted you to know that I love you."

"I love you too, but Danny….Danny? DANNY?" Larry yelled into the phone, but it was no use. Danny was already gone.

---  
Mary was getting anxious. She'd spent the last fifteen minutes pondering how she was going to get Danny out of his funk, but as the minutes ticked by the concern for his mood had change to concern for his whereabouts. The flight attendants were moving up and down the aisle preparing the cabin for take off, but there was no sign of Danny.

"I'm sorry, Miss. My boyfriend hasn't made it on the plane yet," she said to a passing attendant.

"We're getting ready to close the doors, ma'am."

"But he should be here any minute. He was just going to make a phone call. Is there any way you can check with the gate? His name is Danny McCoy."

The woman nodded her head and moved towards the front of the cabin, returning after only a few moments. "I'm sorry. The gate agent says there's no one up there. They paged him, but if he doesn't show up in the next 60 seconds we're going to have to close the doors."

"Then I need to get off," Mary told her, quickly unfastening her seatbelt and reaching for her carryon bag.

"I'm sorry, ma'am. Regulations prohibit you from leaving the plane once you've boarded."

"You don't understand. He's been ill and something might have happened." Mary's usually calm demeanor was steadily crossing over into hysteria.

"I'm sorry. We'll leave word with the gate agents to notify terminal security, but I can't let you off the plane."

"PLEASE!" Mary screamed, attracting the attention of several other passengers before she lowered her voice to a pleading whisper. "Please help me."

"What seems to be the problem?" The man who had approached was dressed like any other passenger, but Mary immediately noticed the side-arm holster beneath his jacket.

Realizing he was an air marshal she decided to plead her case. "My boyfriend never got on the plane. He went to make a phone call and never came back."

The marshal's expression of pity was unmistakable. He obviously thought this was some sort of domestic situation--a lover's quarrel that had led to an unfortunately timed break up, but noticing the look of panic on Mary's face he tried his best to assuage her concern while appealing to her sense of reason.

"Look, I'll contact the police and make sure we locate him, but the only way you're getting off this plane is in federal custody and if you really think he's in danger you won't be any good to him locked in a holding cell. Take your seat and we'll make some calls from the air, okay?"

Mary briefly considered her options. The man was right–she'd never be any good to Danny locked up and it would probably take her less time to get home to Vegas than it would to talk her way out of federal charges. It also helped that her fear that Danny was lying helpless somewhere was quickly turning to anger and hurt as she recalled his behavior that morning. He had been completely consumed with her as they made love in the shower, but had promptly pushed her away as soon as they'd left the hotel and now she knew why. It was his way of saying goodbye and he had sent her onto the plane alone knowing she would be unable to follow him as he made his escape.

Tears began to stream down Mary's face as she thought of that word. She knew it wasn't fair; she knew Danny didn't want to be away from her, but whatever dream had visited him last night had obviously influenced his decision. She quietly assured the air marshal that she wouldn't be anymore trouble and returned to her seat. The minute she landed in Vegas she was calling Ed. She didn't know if Danny's mistrust in their boss was well-founded or not, but she was determined to help the man she loved whether he liked it or not and she knew that Ed Deline was the only person who could help her figure out how.


	10. Chapter 10

**Is anyone still reading this? I wasn't sure since I only got one review. Feedback is always appreciated. This is a tiny bit of a crossover and McDreamy might pop up again later too. **

10-_Strange McSignals_

Mary ran as fast as her legs would carry her through the terminal. The flight had been agonizingly long, especially after she'd learned that Danny had taken her cell phone and all her credit cards–leaving her only with cash–so she wouldn't be able to notify anyone of his absence until she reached Las Vegas.

_Why is it when you're in a hurry everyone around you seems to go as slow as possible?_ She thought to herself as she maneuvered around an elderly woman with a walker and two Japanese tourists who were staring at a lighted billboard advertising one of Vegas' many all nude reviews.

Finally making her way down the escalator, she sprinted past the baggage claim area towards the door, but a hand on her arm stopped her. Jerking her head around, fully prepared to use her purse as a weapon, Mary came face to face with the worried eyes of Larry McCoy. Suddenly, the adrenaline that had been pumping through her veins for the last four hours finally found its release and she collapsed sobbing into his arms.

"Sssh, sweetie, it's alright." Larry's hand softly stroked her hair, soothing her frazzled nerves until she finally calmed enough to tell him what was happening. She relayed the events of the last week; Kent's death, the nightmares and then Danny's disappearing act while Larry relayed the story of Danny's phone call.

"I need to get to the Montecito," Mary told him as she begrudgingly took his advice and waited for their luggage. "I know that whatever is happening to Danny has something to do with the military and Ed's the only one I can think of who might be able to help."

"I thought you said Danny didn't trust Ed."

"He doesn't and I want to know why."

---

Mike noticed Mary on the monitor the minute she walked into the casino and the look on her face coupled with the presence of Larry McCoy close at her heels told him that something was very wrong.

"Hey, boss," he called up to Ed. "Mary's on her way up and she doesn't look happy."

"Send her in as soon as she gets here," Ed told him. He had noticed the same thing on his monitor and the fact that Danny wasn't with them caused a sick feeling to settle in the pit of his stomach.

Once the two of them were inside, Ed closed the door and frosted the office glass.

"What happened?" he asked immediately, but Mary had some questions of her own.

"Why doesn't Danny trust you?"

Ed was taken aback for a moment. He'd suspected that Danny had some concerns, but he never dreamed that it had reached the point where he flat out didn't trust him anymore. "I've never given Danny a reason…"

"There has to be something," Mary cut him off. "Even if he's overreacting because of the stress, there had to be something that triggered it. What did they do to him over there?" Her voice had started to break, but she quickly regained her composure.

"I don't know."

If she was going to help Danny she had to keep her wits about her, but Ed's answer caused her to lose her temper. "Don't lie to me!" She screamed, slamming her hand down on his desk and knocking over several framed photos.

"Mary, honey, you need to calm down," Larry said, immediately coming to stand beside her.

"I will not calm down," she told them, shrugging off Larry's embrace. "Something's wrong with Danny and he's out there by himself thinking that no one can help him and if you know something…"

"Don't you think if I knew how to help Danny that I would have done it?" Ed interrupted, getting to his feet so he could look her in the eye. "I've got inquiries out all over trying to figure out what the hell went on over there."

She saw it then–the fear in Ed's eyes and it scared her more than she could have ever imagined. Defeated, she fell into the visitor's chair, her voice quiet again. "People in his unit are dying, Ed. They're doing crazy things and they're getting themselves and the people around them killed."

"I know that," Ed responded looking at both her and Larry. "And I swear to you I'm trying to find out why."

"Tell us what you know."

"I think it's best…"

"Either you can tell us what's going on or I can figure it out on my own, but I'm not very good with the stealth and I might accidentally let something slip. Something about CIA involvement."

"Mary, you have no idea who or what you're dealing with."

"Then tell me because I'm going to help Danny with or without you, but it might go a lot faster if we worked together. I've been with him every step of the way, Ed. I can tell you things about his condition that you can only guess at. We need to work together on this."

Ed turned to Larry for support. Surely the man could understand that this was a situation too dangerous to involve Mary in, but the look that greeted him was pure resolve. It was obvious Danny's dad was behind Mary one hundred percent and when Ed stopped to think about it he couldn't blame him one bit. They deserved to know the truth and it was better coming from him than getting themselves killed. At least if they trusted him then he could protect them. Taking a deep breath, Ed began to tell them about his meeting with Arnie Siegel and what little he knew about the covert experiment that had been conducted on Danny's unit, all the while pacing the room.

When he was finished both his guests remained quiet until Larry finally stood up and crossed to Ed. He looked the shorter man square in the eye before reaching back and hitting him as hard as he could in the face. Mary gasped, but made no move to stop the scene unfolding in front of her since it appeared that one blow was all Larry had in him. The punch hurt, but Ed did not retaliate. He knew that he deserved it and he was more than willing to take whatever anger Danny's father and Mary held towards him.

"How could you do this, Ed?" Mary asked quietly. "You got out of the CIA because it wasn't the life you wanted for your family yet here you were trying to lead Danny down that same path."

"Only at first, Mary. Once I saw how important Danny's family and friends were to him–the kind of bonds he formed with people I knew that it would never be for him and I told them that. I thought they had let it go, but apparently they earmarked him for something else. It can't be a coincidence that Danny's unit was selected for whatever this experiment was. I made a lot of enemies in the Company and I think this was some back door way of punishing me for walking away."

"So my son has to pay for your choices," Larry spat, still disgusted with everything he had heard. Things like this didn't really happen. Danny was a good Marine–he served his country and this was how they repaid him–by robbing him of his mind. "How the hell are we supposed to help him against people like this? People who are above the law and behind the government?"

"Knowledge is power, Larry," Ed told him, sitting behind his desk again. "We've got to figure out whatever we can about this experiment. All we know right now is that it took place, but we need to know what it was, how they implemented it, what's triggering the episodes and what the purpose was. Then we use what we know against them."

"We threaten to expose them."

"Exactly. I have a feeling that Danny knows this and he's trying to track down other members of his unit. I'm just sorry he felt he had to do it alone."

"What's to stop them from just killing all of us like they did the Beckners or Danny's other friends?"

"Because I know how they work and I'll be one step ahead of them."

---

Danny looked at the piece of paper in his hand as he walked through the sliding glass doors. He'd rented a car at the airport and driven all night to Newark. After returning the car at the airport, he'd hailed a cab in to the city and was currently standing outside St. Vincent's hospital.

"Excuse me," he asked the lady at the desk just inside the door. "I'm looking for a Dr. Shepherd. Can you tell me where…"

"Shepherd-Shepherd or Montgomery-Shepherd?" The woman quickly asked without looking up from her computer screen.

Danny looked at her a little confused before glancing back at his paper, "Dr. Derek Shepherd." 

"He's on the eighth floor. You can take those elevators and then have the nurse at the desk page him."

Danny thanked her and headed for the elevators. He'd done some research at the library that morning and decided that he would pick a doctor at random in the hopes that they didn't have any ties to the military. Dr Shepherd was young–not much older than Danny, but said to be one of the up and coming stars in the world of neurosurgery. Danny just hoped he would be able to help him.

It didn't take long for Dr. Shepherd to answer his page and after an awkward introduction Danny was seated in his office.

"So, Mr. McCoy, I'm a little confused. Did someone refer you to me?"

"No."

"So, what brings you here?"

"Dr. Shepherd I know what I'm about to tell you is going to sound strange, but I need you to hear me out. If you want to send me packing when I'm done then I'll understand, but I'm hoping that you'll be willing to help me."

It took almost an hour for Danny to explain everything that had happened. He told Dr. Shepherd about his life before, during and after he'd gone to Iraq. He told him about the nightmares; of imagining another life. He told him about the headaches and everything that had happened to his friends. Dr. Shepherd asked questions periodically, but for the most part he just listened. When Danny finally finished his story he watched as the doctor regarded him thoughtfully and then picked up his phone.

"I'm going to need x-rays first and then an MRI set up stat. The patient's name is John Doe and he's in my office."

Danny was a little bit surprised at Dr. Shepherd's acceptance of everything he'd been told and of his willingness to conceal Danny's identity for the time being. He couldn't help but question the man as he chuckled nervously, "That's it? You don't think I'm crazy? You don't want to call in a psych consult?"

Dr. Shepherd chuckled before replying, "We may get there eventually, but for right now I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt. I'm not sure I believe in your conspiracy theory, but if all your symptoms are in fact real then it sounds like a pretty interesting case and I'd like to see if I can help you."

---

It was well into the night when Dr. Shepherd finally came back to talk to Danny. He'd been poked and prodded and x-rayed and scanned until he thought he might lose what was left of his sanity and as far as he knew the only thing they'd found was a piece of shrapnel that Danny hadn't even known was there. They'd given him a local and removed it easily right before he went in for the MRI.

He desperately wanted to call Mary–to assure her that he was alright and that he was sorry for leaving the way he had, but he needed to know what was happening to him first. He had wanted to protect her–mostly from himself, but the moment he'd watched the plane take off without him his heart had filled with an almost paranoid sense of dread. What if something happened to her and he wasn't there. He wouldn't be able to forgive himself anymore than if she'd been hurt at his own hands.

Dr. Shepherd was quiet for a moment and Danny could tell he was trying to figure out the best way to say what was on his mind. He also noticed that he waited for the nurse to leave before he pulled a chair close to the bed and spoke. 

"Do you have any idea what this is?" Dr. Shepherd asked as he held up a clear, plastic vile with a tiny piece of metal inside.

"It looks like a piece of metal. Is that the shrapnel you took out of my head?"

"Yes and no. This is what we took out of your head, but I don't think it's shrapnel."

Dr. Shepherd pulled a hand held magnifying glass from the pocket of his lab coat and handed it along with the vile to Danny. Upon closer inspection it was obvious that this was not an ordinary piece of metal. It looked like a microchip and Danny was at a loss for words. He knew deep down that there was something sinister going on, but finally being faced with the evidence made his blood run cold.

"Why didn't any of my other doctor's notice this?"

"I'm not even going to speculate on that question, Danny, but I will tell you that it was pretty hard to miss. It was the first thing any of the techs saw when your scan came up and I noticed it right away as well."

"Is this what's been causing my problems?"

"I'm not exactly sure. I did find evidence that you've been having some form of temporal lobe seizures, but the location of the chip in relation to the location of the seizures in your brain makes me question if this is the cause. The chip was just below the skin and not embedded in the brain, but to be perfectly honest if this isn't what's causing the seizures then I don't know what is. Everything on the scans we did looked normal–your vessels look excellent, there's no sign of epilepsy, nothing in your blood. It is possible this thing is transmitting some sort of signal that I can't detect and I'm hoping that simply removing it will stop the seizures, but I've never seen anything like it. This is something for the guys at MIT."

Danny's head snapped up at the doctor's last statement and he nodded in agreement. "I think I know someone who can help."


	11. Chapter 11

_**Thanks for being so patient in waiting for this update and for keeping the reviews coming. I rarely enjoyed LV this past season and since Nikki has left the show I probably won't follow it anymore. I do still have some stories I want to finish about Danny and Mary so once this is complete you'll probably see a couple more from me before I'm done. Thank you again for all the wonderful feedback. It really does make me want to work on these as much as possible. Emmy**_

**Chapter 11 - ****The Lost Boys**

"This better be good, Jack."

Ed was beyond annoyed as he sat at a back table of a seedy strip club in the worst part of town. A handwritten message had arrived at his office that afternoon and he'd instantly recognized the code as one Jack Keller had used to contact him in the past.

"What's the matter, Ed? Don't you like my choice of meeting places?"

"I could care less if you wanted to meet in a sewer in Bangkok just as long as there's a point. Now, do you have info that might help my friend or were you just in the mood for a show?"

Giving Ed a smirk, Jack reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a slip of paper–handing it to his companion before turning his eyes back to the stage.

"It's a list of names," Ed said matter-of-factly. He recognized most of them as having worked for the Agency–his own name and Arnie Siegel's were at the bottom of the list.

"Got it in one. I guess that's why they pay you the big bucks, huh, Ed?"

"I am so not in the mood for your shit right now, Jack. Tell me what this has to do with Danny."

Without answering the question, Jack handed Ed a large, flat envelope, taking a sip of his drink as the older man emptied the contents onto the table. Inside it was a map of the country which was marked with dots in red and blue–some of them marked through with black X's.

"What am I looking at?"

"The red dots are the current locations of all the people on that list." They were scattered throughout the country and Ed noted the two dots in Las Vegas that must have represented himself and Arnie.

"And the blue?" Ed asked, noticing that each red dot had a corresponding blue dot only a short distance away.

"The blue dots are the locations of all the men in Danny's unit. All but one of them lives or works within an hour of the operatives."

"I'm guessing you don't think that's a coincidence."

"Nope."

"What are the x's?" Ed noticed that three of the red dots and three blue dots were crossed out.

"The x's are all dead. The deaths happened within days of each other, but nothing about them would appear to be connected in any way."

Ed looked again at the map. There was a set of red and blue dots crossed out near San Francisco and in Atlanta, a lone blue dot in Michigan which Ed assumed was Danny's friend Kent Beckner and then a red dot in Vegas.

"Is this Arnie?" Ed asked, pointing at the map. He'd been trying unsuccessfully to contact the man for days and Jack quickly confirmed his suspicions.

"A homeless guy found him this morning in an abandoned building in Henderson. Looks like suicide, but he'd been dead for over a week."

"Jesus, Jack. What the hell is going on?"

"I think that Danny's unit is being used as assassins. They take out their target and then they're eliminated after having served their purpose."

Jack's theory made sense, especially considering the evidence he'd managed to compile. Ed looked at the map again, his eyes fixed on the symbol that represented Arnie. "Do you think Danny killed Arnie? He's the closest one to Vegas."

"No, because Danny'd already be dead if he did. You said Beckner was in Vegas, right?" When Ed nodded he continued, "I'm thinking they used him and then eliminated him once he returned home."

"Who's doing this, Jack?"

"That's the million dollar question. I definitely think this experiment was started by someone with the CIA, but something went wrong, Ed. I'm getting the sense that this is out of their hands and they're just doing damage control."

"They don't let things get out of their hands, Jack."

"This one did. Think about it, Ed. You know how they work. It's too much too fast and there're too many people involved for it to be under them anymore."

Jack was right. Something didn't feel right about all this. It was too out of control and even with everyone being eliminated there were too many loose ends and too many questions for family and friends to ask. Too many people who knew these guys were having problems and could try to tie things together. The CIA didn't work like that. "Somebody went off the reservation, Jack."

"No doubt in my mind about that, Ed. You ever heard of an outfit called Strategic Vision Innovations?"

"They're a defense contractor–they designed visual guidance systems during the Gulf War–real cutting edge stuff. I worked an op involving a scheme to sell some of their technology to Saddam."

"Yeah, officially they're out of business. There's no trace of them past 1999, but there's currently a contract linked to them labeled 'status unavailable–green light hold.'"

"So they're working for the Company," Ed surmised, recognizing the label for projects that were connected to the CIA. "What's the mission objective?"

"No idea, but one of the guys on that list worked for them–the one who was killed in San Francisco. Apparently, a faulty water heater sparked an explosion. According to his wife he did freelance work for the government after SVI disbanded. She said he was working on a big project and had been really stressed in the weeks leading up to his accident."

"Freelance work, huh? I've heard that one before. So maybe they were conducting the experiment under the radar; the Company pulled the plug for whatever reason and they decide to keep it going," Ed brainstormed, his mind slowly putting all the puzzle pieces into place.

"Prove to them that it can work," Jack added before Ed supplied another piece.

"By killing off a few former agents who've fallen out of the Company's good graces."

"And one of their own who might have disagreed with their methods."

"Damnit, Jack. This is bad. How could they do that to these boys? They served their country with honor and valor and how do we repay them? By scrambling their brains and sending them home as ticking time bombs with no idea what's in store."

Sensing the desperation in Ed's voice, Jack decided to get to the heart of the matter. "You heard from the kid?"

"No. He left Mary a message, but we couldn't trace the call. She's checked with all the guys in his unit that were reachable. None of them have heard from him yet."

"You know, Ed. Your name's on that list too."

"I can't worry about that right now. Besides, the only way to stop this is to figure out what they're doing and how."

"I've exhausted my sources."

"Then find some new ones," Ed snapped as he stood from his chair.

"I'll keep digging." Jack assured him, unfazed by the other man's harsh tone.

"I owe you," Ed told him quietly before heading towards the door.

"Yes you do," Jack called out to Ed's retreating form. "And don't think I'm going to forget it either."

"Charlie, are you in there?" Danny yelled as he pounded on the apartment door. "It's Danny McCoy!"

Danny had sent the microchip Dr. Sheppard pulled from his head along with all the test results to Mike via FedEx and then headed out of New York to Chicago to visit Charlie Bain–another member of his unit who had served with him in Iraq. It had taken him almost two days to get there, but without using his credit cards the Greyhound seemed to be his only option. Unfortunately, Charlie didn't seem to be home.

"Hey, keep it down out there! I'm trying to watch my soaps."

Danny was startled by the voice of an older woman across the hall who had opened her door but kept the chain securely in place.

"I'm sorry, ma'am. I'm looking for my friend Charlie–Charlie Bain. Does he still live here?"

"He lives there. Haven't seen him in a few days though."

"Do you know where…" Before Danny could finish she had slammed her door, effectively leaving him without an answer.

Danny sighed in frustration, both at the woman and the fact that he'd obviously missed his friend. He needed this to not be a dead end. He needed to talk to Charlie…to Rick and Fred too. Maybe if they all worked together they could figure out what was going on and if that didn't work they could go public. One vet with strange dreams might be ignored, but if they all came forward someone would have to listen to them.

Pulling a prepaid cell phone from his pocket he scrolled through the numbers looking for the one for Charlie he'd called earlier. His eyes settled on the main number for the Montecito he had dialed the day before and his heart ached with the thought. He had called from a stop along the way and asked to be put through to Mary's voice mail. He knew he was a coward for leaving her a message, but if he talked to her–actually heard the pain and hurt he was sure would be in her voice–then he knew he would have been on a plane back to Vegas and he just couldn't do that yet.

Shaking thoughts of Mary from his head he found Charlie's number and dialed it again. Almost simultaneously a phone began ringing inside the apartment and Danny decided that something wasn't right. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out a small tool kit and began working on the lock. It was old and didn't take much for Danny to get it to give, but when he pushed the door open the chain stopped its progress. Danny knew that could only mean one thing. Someone was in the apartment and either couldn't or wouldn't answer the door. Giving the door a hard shove with his shoulder he managed to break the chain with little effort and walked carefully inside.

"Charlie?" Danny asked, hesitantly, but there was still no answer. Glancing around the tiny apartment he took notice of the coffee table full of empty beer bottles and the smell of rotting food in the kitchen. Making his way to the bedroom, Danny immediately saw his friend lying on the bed.

"Charlie!?" He called out, but the minute he stepped closer he knew it was too late.

Charlie Bain was on his back, his eyes staring blankly at the ceiling, a needle protruding from his arm. Danny could see the remnants of what looked to be a heroin high gone bad, but there was something more going on here. There had to be. Charlie had never been shy about admitting his former drug use, but he'd been clean for almost five years and was proud to share that with anyone who would listen. What could have happened to send him back down that path?

Glancing around the room Danny noticed the television in the corner. It was on, but muted and he fought the urge to turn it off. It seemed so inappropriate–the cheerful, smiling faces of The Price is Right dancing across the screen while his friend lay there dead. Suddenly, a sharp pain behind his eyes sent him to his knees as the light from the window cast a blinding glare across the room. His thoughts immediately turned to Mary. She was always so good when he had an episode and he wished that she was there to help him through this one. Strangely, the second he thought of Mary his mind was bombarded with images. It was as if his whole life with her was flashing before his eyes and he couldn't make it stop. Then suddenly, the images changed and he was seeing things he didn't remember--things that he knew hadn't happened and that he prayed to God never would. He saw her crying, a devastated expression on her face; he felt the sting of her slapping him; he saw her in front of a house surrounded by flames; he saw her standing over her father's body with a gun. Then the images shifted to his father. Danny was standing alone over a coffin, his father dead, face pale, eyes closed. And then as quickly as the images began they were gone and his eyes flew open to reveal a stark white room with no doors or windows. Noticing the other occupant of his prison, Danny turned to him with a questioning gaze, "Where's Mary? Where's my father?"

"They're gone, Danny. It was the only way."

"What are you talking about?"

"You'll never be what I need you to be as long as she's with you."

"But I need her. I need them."

"You don't need them, Danny. You don't need anyone but me."

"No, Ed. You're wrong."


	12. Chapter 12

_I'm sorry it's taken me so long to get this posted. My muse had taken an extended leave of absence, but she's slowly finding her way back. Also real life has taken over lately and I'm really behind on everything. _

_I've got a couple of other stories in progress in addition to this one and I'm taking turns updating on all of them. It takes a powerful pairing to keep the story ideas coming even after the writers eviscerate them, but IMO if any fictional couple has the chemistry and potential it's this one. I don't even watch the show anymore yet I'm still able to write for them—that's how powerful an impression they made on me. _

_I have a few other chapters of this one ready to post so review, review, review. Your kind words always help to encourage me. Thanks. Emmy_

**-12-**

**The Corners of My Mind**

"What is it? What did he send?" Mary asked breathlessly as she barged into the office. Ed and Mike were already engrossed in something on the desk and she quickly joined them.

The second Mike had called down to let her know that a FedEx package had arrived from Danny, Mary had dropped everything and run full speed to the security room, leaving Delinda to deal with the Polyphonic Spree on her own. With each passing day and each new piece of information, Mary was becoming more and more desperate to find Danny. She'd barely been able to concentrate on her work, but had steadfastly remained at the casino just in case there were any new developments–either in figuring out what was happening or in locating Danny.

"It's medical records," Ed told her. "It looks like Danny had some tests run in New York."

"New York? Is that where he is?" She asked, moving closer to the two men in the room so she could get a better look.

"I doubt he's there anymore, Mary, and even if he was it would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack. He's not using his credit cards so we have no way to trace him."

"What do the records say?"

"The brain shows evidence of seizures," Ed mumbled to himself as he scanned the documents. Ed's words only served to renew her fear that whatever was happening could be leaving permanent damage. That thought terrified Mary and her eyes welled up with tears as he went on.

"The doctor couldn't determine what was triggering the episodes. The only thing he found was that thing," Ed indicated the plastic vial that Mike was now inspecting. "…near the base of his skull." The container held a tiny piece of metal and Mary gasped when she realized that thing had been in Danny's head. Suddenly feeling this was all too much, a wave of nausea rolled through her and she grabbed the desk for support before lowering herself into one of the visitor's chairs while Mike and Ed continued to survey the contents of Danny's package.

"It's some kind of microchip," Mike supplied. "I'd like to get it under the scope and see if I can figure out what it's for. At the very least I might be able to determine who made it."

"Let's hope," Ed responded. "…but first… you said you'd found some video footage?"

"Yeah, remember you had me tracking Danny's movements on the day he had the missing time. I'd been able to track him and Kent up until they left the golf course in Henderson, but I lost them after that…until now."

"What did you find?" Mary questioned, turning her chair so she had a better view of the wall of monitors.

"There's a storage facility about two blocks from the golf course where Danny and Kent played," Mike said as he scooted around Ed's desk and entered something on the keyboard. The monitors in Ed's office were quickly filled with grainy black and white images showing rows and rows of storage units.

"I checked with the managers and they agreed to let me look at the footage from that day. I thought it was a dead end, but this morning something caught my eye."

"That's Danny's car," Mary said as Mike focused on the top corner of one of the images, enhancing it so they could see what he had discovered. Parked just beyond the back fence near a narrow dirt service road was the black and yellow Camaro they were all so familiar with, two figures seated inside. As Mike moved the video forward they could see the figure in the driver's seat slump over right before the passenger–obviously Kent Beckner–stepped out and walked out of the frame.

"What's happening?" Mary asked, confused as to what they were seeing. "Did Kent do something to Danny?"

"I'm not sure. Kent's gone for about two hours," Mike commented as he fast-forwarded the video until the second figure appeared on the screen again. "Then he gets back in the car, Danny comes to, restarts the car and drives away. Other than looking a little confused, Danny doesn't even seem to realize that he was passed out on an abandoned road for almost two hours."

"Get to work on that chip and let me know what you find out," Ed told him, still staring at the screen.

"Will do, boss," Mike answered before grabbing the vial off the desk and heading out of the office.

Once he was gone, Ed turned to Mary. "That must have been when Siegal was killed. At least we know for sure that Danny wasn't involved."

Mary's voice was heavy with emotion, "How could this be happening? Kent would never…and Danny…he couldn't, Ed. He wouldn't hurt someone for no reason." She knew what Ed had learned from his contact–that they thought Danny's men were being used as assassins, but to actually see it unfold on screen was surreal.

"I know it's hard to believe, sweetie, but I've seen this scenario before. These guys have been programmed somehow. They don't have any control over what's happening to them and the only way we can stop it is to figure out what's being used as a trigger."

"Explain it to me...how the programming works."

"Mary…," Ed hedged, hesitant to go into too much detail with her. She was already teetering on the edge of exhaustion and he wanted to shield her as much as possible, knowing it's what Danny would want.

"No! Don't try to shut me out again, Ed. The more we all know then the better help we might be in figuring it out."

Taking a deep breath, Ed sat in the chair beside her and began to relay what he knew about these things from his past in the CIA.

"People can be programmed, Mary. The times I was witness to it, they used audio cues. The subject is bombarded with sounds and put into an almost hypnotic state to the point where their subconscious is open and can be easily manipulated. Often they won't even know what's been done to them–the information just sits in their mind somewhere until later when the trigger is given. It can be a word or a specific sound–something overt or even subliminal, but it will force their brain to remember the programming and the response is automatic."

"So, every time Danny hears a certain sound it triggers a certain response?" Mary asked, taking it all in.

"I don't think it's that simple in this case, but for all we know this chip could be what's been causing this and now that it's out Danny might not have any more problems."

"I don't think so, Mr. D." Both of them were startled to see Mike standing in the doorway.

"What are you talking about Mike? You've only been gone five minutes."

"That's all I needed. The chip is a GPS locator."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive. It's a standard device–straight from a generic manufacturer. The only reason this was implanted in Danny was so he could be tracked. I don't think it could have been used for anything other than that."

"So, if they can't track him anymore then maybe they can't use him to do whatever it is they have planned," Mary guessed, looking between the two men for confirmation.

"We can't take that chance. If the chip isn't it, we still have to find the trigger."

All three of them were silent for a moment before Mary finally spoke, "There has to be a common denominator in all of Danny's episodes. I was with him for a lot of them so if I can find the link then maybe it will be the trigger."

Ed and Mike both cast doubtful looks in her direction as she stood up to leave. "I need to go back through my notes again," Mary said, but the room began to spin and she faltered a bit.

"Are you alright?" Mike asked concerned, reaching a hand out to steady her. He knew she'd been going non-stop since she stepped off the plane and he could see the last few days had really taken a toll on her.

"I'm fine. I just got up too fast. I want to get back to my office."

"Mary, when was the last time you slept?" Ed queried, stepping around his desk and taking a good look at her. She seemed pale and he could see that the hand that wasn't gripping Mike's arm was trembling.

"How can I sleep when Danny's out there alone? We have to help him, Ed."

"I know that, kid, but you're no good to Danny if you're sick. Let Mike take you home,"

"NO!" She tried to argue, but Ed refused to back down.

"No arguments. Get your things from your office and Mike will drive you."

She supposed she could work from home. It might even be better in case Danny decided to call. "Okay, but you'll call us if anything comes up?"

"I promise."

----

"Uggh," Mary growled as she shut off her laptop. She'd been researching for hours and still didn't know if she was any closer to finding out what was causing Danny's problems. After Ed had ordered her home and Mike had forced her to bed she waited until she heard her friend settle at his own computer in the living room before pulling out all her notes and spreading them around her. She'd gone over every incident she had witnessed since Danny had been home, she had Googled all his friends–even discovering that another member of his unit had been found that morning in Chicago–dead of an apparent drug overdose. That information had been quickly emailed to Ed as her search for answers continued to no avail.

Stacking her notes neatly and placing them back in their respective folders; Mary leaned back against the pillows and stared at the ceiling. She was beyond tired, but her mind refused to turn off. Reaching for the remote she flicked on the television and focused her gaze on the screen.

"Stupid satellite," Mary muttered as she noticed the distortion in the picture. She watched a few minutes of some old sci-fi movie before deciding that the television was not going to help her relax, but just as she was about to click the off button on the remote an idea struck her. Throwing the covers back, Mary leapt from the bed and into the darkened living room.

"Mike!! Mike, wake up," she yelled at her sleeping friend as she turned on the lights.

Startled, Mike bolted from the couch, banging his knee on the coffee table in the process. "What? What is it?"

"The television in the bedroom…it's distorted."

Holding his head in his hands and plopping back onto the couch, Mike tried to calm his breathing. "Damn, you scared the crap out of me. It's probably just a bad signal. I'll look at it in the morning."

"No, Mike. Ed said the trigger could be subliminal. What if that's it? What if it's something on the TV's?"

"Mary, I think you've watched one too many episodes of the Twilight Zone."

"I'm serious, Mike. Danny watches monitors all day long. He watches television before he goes to bed–before he has the nightmares. The TV is always on somewhere. And when we were standing on the road where Connie and Kent had their accident…," Mary's voice trailed off as she tried to remember exactly what she'd seen. "There was a giant screen at the entrance to a water park. What if something on that screen caused Kent to crash?"

Suddenly, the gears started turning in Mike's head too and he remembered what he'd seen on the video footage of Danny and Kent. "They were watching TV in the sports bar before they left the golf course the day Mr. Siegel was killed."

"You see! This could be it, Mike! The TV wasn't acting up when I was home yesterday. I just noticed it tonight…," Mary trailed off as she reached down to pick something up off the coffee table. "Because of this," she said holding up the chip.

"Okay, okay…," Mike said, trying to put everything together in his head. "If that's the case and the cues are visual then the programming would have had to be visual too."

Mary looked around the room, her mind racing as she tried to mentally recall anything that might give them a clue. There was something just on the edge of her consciousness and she tried desperately to recall it until just like that, it was there, "Omigod…the goggles."

Mary dashed from the living room to the bedroom with Mike hot on her heels. He stared at her confused as she began to dig through the contents of a military-issue duffel bag in the corner of the room until she found what she was looking for.

"Danny said these were something new they were trying out," she recalled as she handed Mike the night-vision goggles. "But they had a lot of trouble with them. Everyone was supposed to turn them back in, but Kent made off with his."

"I think you're right, Mary. This could be it. They use the goggles to implant the programming, the chips to locate them and then send the signal via satellite. We've got to tell Ed."

Running back to the living room, Mike grabbed his phone and dialed while Mary pulled on a pair of jeans and her tennis shoes.

"Damn, he's not answering his cell," Mike called out to her after a few minutes. "The security room says he left about ten minutes ago so he's probably on his way home."

"Take the chip to the casino and see if you can pick up a signal being sent to any of the monitors. Then get everything you need to test those goggles and meet me at Ed's." Mary told him as she grabbed her keys and purse.

"Okay, but where are you going?"

"I want to check out one more place…just to make sure."

----

As Mary pulled into the Deline's driveway she was struck by the fact that the house and surrounding grounds were completely dark. That was unusual considering everything should have been on a timer. Deciding there must be some sort of blackout Mary drove through the open gate and parked her car next to Ed's. Jillian's car was also out front, but since she was in Paris with her sister Mary guessed that Ed was the only one here.

She had stopped at Sunny Sands Golf Course on the way over. It was the only place Danny had been struck with a seizure that she couldn't specifically remember a television nearby, but as she retraced their steps through the parking lot she could see the large video marquee for Mandalay Bay just through the trees. It scared her to think how these people could get manipulate these poor guys with something so ingrained in their every day lives. She just prayed that now that they all had a better idea of what they were dealing with they would be able to find a way to stop this madness.

When the ringing of the bell went unanswered, Mary decided to try the door and was surprised to find it unlocked. "Ed?" She called out, cautiously making her way into the foyer. "Ed? Are you here?"

It never occurred to her that she should be frightened–that anything about this situation seemed out of the ordinary–not until a split second before a hand covered her mouth and she felt the barrel of a gun pressed against her side.


	13. Chapter 13

Ch 13

**Shock and Sensibility**

Mary stood paralyzed with fear for only a moment before she felt the arm holding the gun snake its way around her body, pulling her tightly against the figure behind her. Instantly she wrenched the hand from her mouth and turned in her captor's embrace.

"Sshhh," he silenced her before she could say his name, but it didn't stop Mary from pulling his head down until their lips met. His hesitation in returning the kiss was not lost on her, but before she could register what it meant, Mary felt his strong arms circle her waist and pull her close so that he could deepen the kiss.

"Danny," she said breathless once they had separated, but a finger to her lips ended her question.

"It's okay," he told her, an almost detached look on his face as he brushed away the remnants of her tears with his thumb. "I won't let him hurt you."

Mary studied his face, trying to look deep into his eyes in the darkened foyer and instantly she knew something was wrong. He seemed to be looking at her, but his eyes weren't focused. It was almost as if he was staring right through her. "Who are you talking about, Danny?"

"He wants to take you from me."

His voice was low and almost menacing and it sent a chill down Mary's spine. "No one can ever take me from you, Danny."

"Because I won't let him," he answered cryptically, his eyes scanning their surroundings.

Suddenly Mary's stomach lurched to her throat as she realized who he was talking about. "Danny, Ed is our friend. He's trying to help you. He would never do anything to hurt any of us."

"I've seen it, Mary. I've seen what he can do." He still wouldn't look at her and when she laid her hands on his shoulder she could feel the tension. It was almost as if his muscles had recoiled and he was prepared to strike out at any moment–a cobra ready to destroy its prey.

"No," she insisted, rubbing her hands soothingly across his chest, hoping that her touch would bring him back to her. "Whatever you're seeing…it's not real. They did something to you, baby,...when you were in Iraq. And I think we've figured it out, but you have to let me help you."

"I have to make sure that you're safe…that my father is safe. That's all that matters to me, Mary."

"I know and I love you so much for it, but I need you to trust me, Danny. Can you do that? Can you trust me?"

"I…," Danny faltered and Mary's breath hitched. He looked like he was actually considering it, but then suddenly the mask was back and he gently pushed Mary out of the way. "I have to do this. It's the only way."

As Danny walked determinedly towards the door to Ed's office Mary ran to catch up with him, blocking his progress with her body as she continued to plead with him.

"Danny, you're confused. You don't have to do this."

"He's dangerous, Mary." He once again moved her out of his way and stood back as he prepared to kick down the door.

"Danny, please stop!" She screamed just as a crackling sound and a spark of blue illuminated the corridor. Before Mary realized what was happening, Ed had wrested the gun from Danny's hand and left him in a moaning heap on the floor.

"DANNY!" Mary shrieked, falling to her knees and helping him roll on to his back.

"Just give me a second," Ed said, a little out of breath. "I need to make sure he's secure." He pulled something that looked like plastic ties from his pocket and reached for the injured man's hands.

"NO!" Mary screamed as she pushed Ed away from Danny. "Secure? My God, Ed, what the hell are you doing?"

"Saving him from himself," the older man snapped back and Mary immediately picked up on the fear and worry in his tone. She had pulled Danny's head into her lap and was softly stroking his head as his eyes darted quickly back and forth behind his closed lids.

Realizing that Danny wasn't going anywhere Ed sat back against the wall, sighing as he ran his hand down his face. "I'm sorry. He caught me off guard, Mary, and I'm not used to that. I didn't want to hurt him. I just used the taser so I could distract him enough to get the gun. Special forces are usually trained to withstand hits from these things so I didn't think it would affect him this badly."

Ed looked at Danny again with concern. He had curled into an almost fetal position and was holding his head in obvious pain.

"Danny, honey, it's okay," Mary cooed as she held him as best she could. 

"Let's try to get him somewhere more comfortable," Ed said as Danny's distress seemed to settle with the sound of her voice and his breathing evened out. It took some doing, but the two of them managed to get him to his feet, his weight heavily supported by both of them as they dragged him to the couch in the office. Mary pulled a throw from one of the chairs and covered him before sitting on the edge of the couch.

"What were you doing here?" Ed asked as he placed Danny's gun in the wall safe and turned back to Mary.

"Mike and I think we figured out what's going on. He's back at the Montecito checking some things, but when we couldn't reach you I decided to head over."

Ed shook his head and leaned steadily against the desk, the uneasy glances thrown at the unconscious man belying his cool exterior. "The lights had just gone off right before you got here. After everything I found out from Jack Keller, I had a feeling it might be Danny or one of the other guys so I hid. Then…when I heard your voice downstairs…."

Mary turned back to Danny, running her fingers across his forehead that was now coated in a fine sheen of sweat. "Maybe we should take him to the hospital."

"The electrical current probably just sent his brain into overload. Let's give him a little bit of time. If we can avoid raising any questions at the hospital I think we'll be better off."

Mary knew he was probably right and she had seen Danny worse than this in the last few weeks, but she hated taking any chances with his health or his psyche. She decided she would give him a little time to come out of it, but if he wasn't talking to her in the next fifteen minutes she was calling 911.

"What did you and Mike figure out?"

Ed's voice broke her out of her thoughts and Mary relayed their theory while Ed remained perched against his desk, arms folded as he considered each word with great thought.

Once she had finished, she told him her newest concern, "The only thing I can't figure out now is how they managed to still get to him even without the chip."

"I might have a guess on that one. You emailed me that information about Charlie Bain in Chicago. I managed to finagle a copy of the police report and it seems Danny was the one who called the paramedics from Charlie's apartment. It's possible that whatever signal is being sent is not individualized. If Charlie's television was on then Danny's mind still could have intercepted the instructions to kill me."

Mary was silent, a dazed look on her face as her own mind tried to process everything. When it all at once became too much she dropped her head onto Danny's chest, trying her best to stifle her quiet sobs.

"Mary, please…I know it's a lot to take in, but we know so much more now than we did before."

"We still don't know who these people are or how to stop it. He tried to kill you, Ed. They managed to convince Danny–who worships the ground you walk on–not only that you couldn't be trusted but that you were such a threat to his family that he had to kill you."

"I know."

"I thought the more we found out the closer we'd be to stopping it, but with each new piece of information it just seems like we have more questions."

Ed didn't know what to say. She was right. It would have helped if they could have just called his colleagues at the CIA and demanded to know what was happening–demanded that they help Danny and reverse whatever mind-altering experiment they had started, but that's not the way things worked with his former employer.

"I'm going to try to get the lights back on. Are you okay sitting with him?"

"I'm not the one he's trying to kill," Mary snapped, angry at the entire situation and especially that anyone would again insinuate that Danny might try to hurt her.

"I didn't mean…never mind." Sighing, Ed picked up the taser and headed out of the room closing the door behind him.

Once they were alone together Mary took the time to examine Danny further. His arms were bruised from various blood tests and when she ran her hands around his neck she noted the bandage from where the chip had been. He seemed to be resting peacefully so when she leaned forward to press a kiss to his brow she was surprised to feel him stir beneath her touch.

"Danny," she said softly, again brushing a kiss to his forehead.

"Mmmary?" he mumbled and relief flooded her entire body.

"It's me, baby. How do you feel?"

"Mmm-why did you let me drink so much?"

Mary couldn't help but laugh at how ridiculous that sounded. If only it were that simple. As Danny drifted more and more into consciousness she could see the realization suddenly wash over him followed closely by confusion. "How did you get here?"

"I drove, Danny."

"To Chicago? Why would you drive all that way?"

"Danny, you're not in Chicago. You're on the couch in Ed's office. Don't you remember coming back to Vegas?"

"Vegas? No, I was at Charlie's…he...he died," Danny stumbled over the words and Mary knew he was having a hard time coming to terms with the loss of yet another friend.

"I know," she told him, helping his hand find hers in the dark so he could bring it to his heart. "Danny, there's so much I need to tell you, but first I want to know if you're alright."

Danny took a moment, taking some deep breaths before he attempted to scoot himself to a sitting position. "My head hurts like hell and I'm kinda nauseous, but for the most part I think I'm okay."

Mary breathed a sigh of relief, leaving his side for a moment to grab him some water from the small fridge behind the desk. As she watched him drain the bottle she curled into his side and waited for him to finish. The next few minutes of conversation were going to be difficult and she didn't know how he was going to take it.

"How bad was it?" He finally asked as he wrapped Mary in his arms and pulled her close to his chest.

"Bad, Danny. Really, really bad."

"Did I…did I hurt someone?" His voice sounded meek and Mary pulled herself from his embrace so she could face him fully.

"Everyone is okay." Mary was choosing her words carefully, but Danny could always see right through her.

"But I tried…I tried to hurt someone, didn't I?" He knew the answers lied in what she wasn't saying and he sat up straighter, his eyes locking with hers before his next question. "Was it Ed?"

He could see the flash of fear that passed behind her gaze and his heart ached at the thought she might actually be afraid of him.

"Danny," she asked tremulously. "Do you still want to hurt him?" That's when he realized that she wasn't frightened of him, but rather for him–afraid that he might fall victim once again to whatever mind control had sent him on a mission to eliminate his mentor and friend. Dropping his head into his hands, Danny closed his eyes for a moment considering her words very carefully before he finally spoke.

"I don't…but I didn't think I'd ever want to hurt him before."

Accepting his answer Mary decided to fill him in on what they'd discovered while he was away. "Mike and I think that whatever signal they're transmitting to your brain is coming through a satellite signal…through digital monitors and television sets."

Danny was a little taken aback. "That's a pretty wild theory."

"I know it sounds a little X-Files, but I promise you… with everything else we've learned, it makes sense."

Danny dropped his head back against the couch, his eyes staring at the ceiling as he tried to process everything. He'd been playing cloak and dagger all over the country–hiding from Mary and whoever else might be following him; trying to do everything on his own and the only thing he'd found was a piece of metal in his head and another dead friend.

"Danny, I know it's a lot to take in…," she said, echoing Ed's earlier words to her and by the sound of Danny's disgusted snort she guessed they seemed just as patronizing coming from her as they had when she'd first heard them.

"I'm sorry," she started to say but the ringing of her cell phone cut her apology short. Reaching for her bag where it lay by the door she pulled out the phone just as she heard the air conditioner start up and the lights in the hallway come back on.

Flipping her phone open she had barely opened her mouth to say hello to Mike when his worried and breathless voice filled her ear.

"We've got a problem!"


	14. Chapter 14

Ch 14

**Deliver Us From Evil…****  
**  
Mike glanced in his rearview mirror one last time before making the turn onto the road that led up to Ed's house. After taking several detours he was pretty sure he had not been followed. When the two men claiming to be from the Department of Defense had showed up at the Montecito looking for Danny, Mike's spidey senses had gone on full alert. While they claimed that they only needed Danny for some further debriefing after his tour, something did not seem right about the whole situation. Mike told them that Danny was out of town due to the death of one of his fellow soldiers and the knowing glance the two men shared had only served to confirm his suspicions. As soon as the men were off the property he had called Ed, but when there was no answer he dialed Mary and learned that he wasn't the only one who had received an unexpected visit.

Pulling through the gate, Mike parked his car behind Mary's and let himself in–the occupants of the house were probably in full crisis mode and had no time to answer the door. Making his way through the foyer, Ed's voice let Mike know that they were in the living room and he moved to join them. Letting his presence be known, but keeping his mouth shut as he joined his friends on the couch watching their boss pace the length of the room.

"I know these guys and I know what they're capable of. This thing has gotten way out of their control and they're doing clean up, Danny, and until we have a better idea of what that means, you need to lay low."

"I'm not going to just sit back and let the CIA or anyone else destroy my life–kill my friends."

"I know that, but I need you to trust me on this." Realizing the significance of what Ed was asking after the events of the evening Mary turned her gaze to Danny. When he didn't respond right away, seemingly lost in an internal battle, Ed pleaded with him, "Danny, I know that your head is screaming at you that I'm the enemy, but it's not real. I'm begging you to trust me, Danny. Let me help you."

Mary held Danny's hand in both of hers as she listened to Ed. She had been trying to shake off the dread that seemed to have consumed her the moment she'd realized what Danny was going to do. She was trying so hard to be strong–to hold it together for his sake. He needed her now more than ever, but the fear for his safety had been joined by a horrible sense of doubt that she could not seem to overcome. They knew now that so many of the thoughts and feelings he'd experienced since his return had been false–implanted as part of this horrid experiment to try to emotionally isolate these men from their family and friends. As she considered this Mary couldn't help but wonder how many of his feelings since he'd been back were actually his own and how many were an effect of what had been done to him.

She was brought back to the conversation when Danny spoke, his decision finally made, "What's your plan?"

"Even without the chip they've still managed to control you," Ed continued. "I want to get you somewhere the signal can't reach–give your head a break while I try to talk to these guys--try to find a way out of this mess."

"Are you sure that's wise? Letting me go off on my own?" Danny asked–his tone quiet and almost defeated as he thought about what could have happened if Ed had not been able to stop him.

"You won't be on your own," Mary replied, her voice resonating a quiet hysteria. Trying to push her uncertainties to the back of her mind, she gripped Danny's hand tighter. At that moment, his hand in hers seemed to be the only thing keeping her tethered to sanity, but as the doubt continued to bubble to the surface Mary feared she would not be able to hold on to him forever. Regardless, she refused to let him out of her sight again until she was sure that he was truly safe.

Concerned by her tone, the men in the room exchanged nervous glances before Danny leaned closer to place a lingering kiss at her temple. "Okay," he whispered, recognizing that she needed some form of reassurance, but not quite knowing the extent of her fears.

"If we're careful I think you'll be okay," Ed went on. "Assuming Mary's right about what's causing this…"

"I think she is," Mike interrupted. "There's definitely some sort of stray signal being broadcast through the monitors at the casino. It's too scrambled for me to determine its content, but it's too big of a coincidence not to have something to do with Danny."

"So where do we go?" Danny asked. "Do you have some underground bunker I don't know about?"

"No, I'm not really sure yet. I was thinking somewhere remote–away from the trappings of modern technology."

The room fell quiet for a moment, the group considering their options, before Mary responded, "I know a place."

---

"I can't believe you remembered this place," Danny said as he unloaded another bag from the borrowed old truck. He and Mary had quietly hitched a ride with one of Sam's whales to Reno and then driven the rest of the way to this remote cabin outside of Truckee, California–nestled deep in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

"How could I forget?" Mary grabbed an armful of Wal-Mart sacks, a sad smile tugging at her lips as she remembered the summer before her fifteenth birthday. The cabin belonged to an old friend of Larry–the same friend who had loaned them the truck in Reno. That summer he had invited Larry and Danny to use the cabin for a couple of weeks to fish. Danny was allowed to bring one friend and had of course immediately chosen Greg, but when he was grounded for skipping school Mary had begged to come along. By that time, her father was abusing her on a regular basis and while she had yet to tell Danny what was happening she could not bear the thought of him not being close by. It had taken a lot of whining and the promise to do a couple of his book reports, but eventually Danny agreed and told his father that he wanted Mary to be his guest. Her father was reluctant to let her go, but he had finally relented--unable to form a convincing argument when Larry McCoy petitioned him in person.

During the short time they spent here Mary had been able to forget the horror that her life had become and she was hoping it would provide that same solace and security to them now. "That was one of the best summers of my life," Mary said quietly before shaking herself from the memory and making her way towards the cabin.

Danny watched her go, a nagging sense in the back of his mind that there was more bothering Mary than he realized. "Mine too," he said softly to himself before shouldering their bags and following her inside.

The one room structure was well built, but definitely showing its age. The two sets of bunk beds Mary remembered from their last visit had been replaced by a lone double bed which opened the room up for a small sitting area next to the fire as well as a small table and four chairs in the corner next to the tiny kitchen. Mary tossed the sacks containing the new bed linens they'd bought onto the bare mattress and set the rest of the items in the kitchen. Danny followed closely behind–dropping their suitcases on the bed before joining Mary in the kitchen to help put things away. The fridge had been unplugged for quite some time so Danny gave it a quick once over to make sure it was working properly, while Mary put the dry goods they'd bought in one of the cabinets.

The plan was for them to stay at the cabin for a few days and then travel back into Truckee to make contact with Ed. They had left their cell phones in Vegas and purchased a couple of prepaid ones so they would be harder to trace–just in case anyone was listening. During that time Ed was going to seek out some of the contacts he still had in the CIA and try to figure out a way to reverse whatever they had done to Danny and his friends.

Once Danny had unloaded everything from the truck and collected enough wood to supply the roaring fire he'd started to ward off the early winter chill he wrapped his arms around Mary from behind and settled his head on her shoulder. "You okay?" He asked; glad when she seemed to relax against him. She had been so tense since they'd left Vegas and he worried that the stress was finally getting to her. It was so like Mary to hold everything inside–to try to be strong for everyone around her–but Danny knew that only lasted for so long.

"It's been a long night," she replied quietly, running her hands up and Danny's arms where they rested across her stomach.

Danny turned Mary in his arms so he could look into her eyes, but his efforts were thwarted when she quickly buried her head in his chest. Not having the energy at the moment to question her avoidance, Danny kissed the top of her head. "I'll make the bed if you want to shower first."

Pulling herself from his embrace, she kissed him lightly on the cheek in appreciation and moved towards the bathroom–grabbing her duffel bag on the way.

Half an hour later as they crawled into bed Danny was surprised when Mary reached her hand inside his pajama bottoms. Despite his exhaustion, his body instantly reacted to her touch and he found himself removing her clothes as she pulled him on top of her–their bodies joining in a frenzied rush. When it was over Danny lay breathless, Mary's arms and legs wrapped tightly around his body as he remained buried inside of her. It was an intimate lovers' embrace, but to Danny it felt as if they were miles apart.

When he tried to move his body away from hers she held him tighter, "Please don't go. Please don't leave me yet." He could hear her quiet sobs against his shoulder, her hot tears on his skin and his heart ached.

"Mary, honey, everything's going to be alright. Ed is going to find a way to help me and we're going to get through this." When she didn't stop crying, he tried again, lifting his head slightly so he could see her face. "Talk to me…," he pleaded, nuzzling the side of her face.

"I just want you to be better," she finally answered. "…for your thoughts and feelings to be your own. No matter what happens to us…," she trailed off, her voice heavy with tears. "No matter what happens…that's what I want more than anything, Danny."

"Baby, I promise you I won't let anything happen," Danny told her. "My head is getting clearer every minute we're up here and Ed's going to find a way to make it stay that way." Danny moved their bodies so he was spooned behind her, neither of them bothering to redress since the fire had heated the room to within a couple degrees of toasty. "You'll see…," he muttered, exhaustion finally winning its battle. "Everything will be back to normal soon."

As his breathing evened out and he drifted into slumber he barely heard Mary whisper, "That's what I'm afraid of."

---

Ed stood against his car as it sat on a dusty back road outside of Henderson. Unlike his inquiries over the past few months, the message he had sent last night was intended to go straight through official channels. He needed to get their attention and to let them know that he wasn't going to back down on this. Ed had been hesitant to take this approach previously for fear that the Agency would block his investigations, but now that they had a good idea of what was happening there was no more time to waste.

As he watched the dust cloud approach from the east he kept his arms folded–his body language conveying a cool demeanor and masking the rage that was simmering just below the surface. When the non-descript, gray sedan pulled up across from him he was not surprised to see John Kitz step out. The CIA was doing damage control and Kitz was one of the best.

"Ed Deline…fancy meeting you here," Kitz drawled as he assumed a similar stance against his own car–keeping his distance from Ed.

"Cut the crap, Kitz. This isn't a social call. I want you to tell me how to help Danny and the other Marines in his unit."

The other man chuckled a bit at Ed's audacity before replying in an almost chastising tone, "You're not with the Agency anymore, Ed, and the information you're requesting–should it even exist–is highly classified."

"I'm here to make a deal, Kitz. Tell me what I have to do."

"We don't make deals."

"That's bullshit and you know it," Ed fumed, taking a few steps closer until he was standing in the middle of the road. "If you want to keep this thing quiet then you'll make a deal."

"You should know better than to play hardball with us, Ed," Kitz said pushing himself off the car and trying to intimidate Ed with his taller stature. "Besides, at this point it's just coincidence, supposition and some Marines who had a rough time readjusting after being over seas."

"You forget who you're dealing with, Kitz," Ed responded in kind, unfazed by the other man's tactics. "Do you think I'd really make an empty threat? Do you think I'd stake Danny's life on supposition and coincidence?"

"So what? You've got a couple of inconclusive medical tests and a generic microchip?" 

The younger man's voice was dripping with sarcasm, but Ed showed no reaction. "Actually, we've managed to isolate a really strange signal going through the Montecito security monitors and we've picked up the same signal at Danny's house and I'm guessing we'll find the same signal within close proximity of all the other men."

"We're not generating that signal. There's nothing to tie it or anything else to us because we're not running this thing."

"Oh, that's right," Ed responded, his tone mocking as he got right in Kitz's face. "You let it get away from you, didn't you? The Agency certainly is slipping under this new leadership."

Kitz rolled his eyes and took a few steps to the side, restoring some space between himself and the older man.

"So, if you guys aren't involved then I've just got one question."

"What?" He asked, annoyed.

"How did a contractor with no ties to any government agency manage to infiltrate a highly trained Marine division and completely brainwash them?"

Suddenly, Kitz did something Ed never thought would happen–he flinched. The movement in his eyes was almost undetectable, but Ed saw it and that was the only signal he needed to go in for the kill.

"I know the Agency authorized the use of the night vision goggles, Kitz, and I've got a pair of them to prove it so what do you say we work together. I don't want to expose this anymore than you want it to be exposed, but I do want you to help those boys. Now, was there a viable exit strategy assembled before this whole mess got started?"

Ed watched closely as Kitz walked a short distance away, putting his hands in his pockets and sighing dramatically. To anyone else it seemed as if he was about to relieve his conscience of a tremendous burden, but Ed knew it was all an act. This man could care less if Danny and his friends died, but he had decided that it would serve his interests and the interests of the Agency to come clean with Ed and solicit his help.

"There is a way, but we haven't been able to test it extensively. We tried the procedure on Danny while he was at Landstuhl, but his head injury posed significant problems."

"Damnit, Kitz, if you knew back then SVI was doing all this, why did you wait so long to take action?"

Kitz finally turned around and moved closer to Ed before responding, "We didn't know the extent of their plans. We pulled the goggles as soon as we realized there were design flaws and thought that would be the end of it until we were ready to proceed again. We monitored all of the participants' medical conditions–obtaining copies of their records–but we really had no idea that SVI still planned to use them as assassins. We didn't realize until Arnie Siegel started making inquiries that something more was going on. Then when he turned up dead…"

"And SVI? Tell me you've at least done something about them."

"I'm sure they were hoping to impress us, but I think they got the message that we don't take kindly to our orders or protocol being circumvented. The SVI offices are closed and as far as we can tell the main players are operating underground."

"If they know you're trying to stop them, then why are they still trying to carry out the assassinations?"

"Because the guy that runs this thing, Jeff Tucker, is an ego maniac and a borderline psychopath. Personally, looking at this guy's dossier I can't believe the Agency even agreed to work with him, but he was the one with the technology. And if we don't use it then I'm guessing he'll find someone else who will which is why it's become priority one to neutralize this entire situation."

Ed shook his head, considering the possibilities of that scenario before responding, "If I find Tucker and bring him in I want your word that you'll do whatever it takes to help Danny and the others–really help them and not just leave them sitting in a mental hospital somewhere with their brains scrambled beyond repair."

"We'll do whatever we can, but we don't want Tucker brought in, Ed. We want him eliminated."

"I can do that too."


	15. Chapter 15

_**Hey, everybody! Thanks for all the amazing reviews. I'm so glad there are still people out there who are enjoying these stories. This is going to be the last update on Dreaming for awhile. I'm getting ready to go on vacation and I know when I get back the work is going to be piled up so I'm issuing a disclaimer now. As I mentioned, I have 2 other stories in progress and I'm trying to decide if I should start posting them here or wait until they're finished so you might see something from me in the next week or two. Until then...enjoy!**_

Ch 15

**Hearts and Flowers**

Slowly opening his eyes, Danny reached his hand out for Mary, but found her side of the bed empty. Pushing himself to a sitting position he scanned the interior of the small cabin, but it was unoccupied as well. He wasn't too concerned by her absence since they had both spent a lot of the last two days outside enjoying the unusually mild weather, but he was still anxious to find her.

Once dressed Danny stepped out into the crisp mountain air and took a deep breath. It was amazing up here and while the circumstances of their stay were not ideal he hoped that they could return some day when they could truly relax and enjoy their surroundings. They were supposed to make contact with Ed later today and he was sure after that their peaceful little bubble would have to burst.

It broke Danny's heart that this ordeal was taking such a toll on Mary. Her mood had resonated somewhere between melancholy and distant since their arrival and while she tried very hard to keep it hidden Danny could not help but notice the sad look that crossed her features from time to time–especially whenever he talked about the future.  
What was even more strange was that the more Danny tried to reassure her that things were going to be fine–that they would be back to normal soon–the more distant she became. She'd been his rock through all of this and he was determined to be there for her too. If he could just figure out what was wrong.

As he hopped off the porch and headed towards the woods he kept thinking about everything she had said since they'd been here. Danny had tried several times the day before to get her to talk to him; to open up about what was really bothering her, but she insisted that she was fine. She kept telling him that she was only worried about him–that all she wanted was for him to get better. As he replayed her words in his mind something suddenly struck him. _No matter what happens…__**to us**_Those two words echoed in Danny's head and suddenly it all made sense.

Danny picked up the pace as he made his way down the trail towards the river. They had walked this path yesterday, reminiscing about their trip up here as kids, and he was pretty certain he would find Mary somewhere along the way. Danny needed to make her understand that she was wrong and he cursed himself for not figuring it out sooner. He was supposed to know her better than anyone and he'd been so caught up in assuring her that they would be safe and that things would be back to normal that he had not realized what "normal" might mean for them–at least in Mary's mind.

Frustrated that he had not located her along the path, Danny gave into his increasing worry and called out to her. "MARY!" He yelled as he tried to decide whether to go up or down stream. "MARY! ANSWER ME! WHERE ARE YOU?"

"Danny," he heard a tiny voice reply to his right and made his way along the river bank towards the sound.

"Mary?"

"Danny. I'm over here." The voice became louder with each step he took until he finally caught sight of her perched on a large boulder that jutted out of the small embankment along the river.

"Hey," she said, smiling a little sheepishly when he finally reached her.

"Hey, baby," Danny started, intending to tell her how much she had worried him, but he was momentarily distracted by the large sequoia tree growing a short distance from where Mary was sitting.

"You found our tree." Danny took a few steps past Mary, reaching out his hand to trace the carving that was still quite clear in the wood.

**DM + ****MC**

The memory of that day was stunningly clear in Mary's mind. While Larry and Danny fished, Mary had wandered off looking for wildflowers. She smiled as she remembered how it had not taken long for Danny to tire of fishing and join her in her quest. Of course he claimed he was looking for arrow heads for his collection, but Mary remembered him adding quite a few beautiful flowers to her basket. They had ended up in this exact spot, Mary weaving the flowers into her braided hair while Danny worked with his Swiss army knife for nearly an hour on their initials so that they would be perfect. He insisted that once their names were on the tree that it meant their friendship would last forever. The one thing Mary did not remember about that day was the lopsided heart that now surrounded the letters. It definitely wasn't there when they headed back to the cabin that day. "Looks like someone else found it too. I don't remember the heart," she told him, still confused as to who might have done it.

"Yeah," Danny said, a little embarrassed as he thought back to that trip. "I came back and did that later. You and Dad had gone to Truckee for something and I snuck out here and carved the heart."

"That same summer? Why would you do that?"

"Because…I loved you–even back then, but I was too scared about what that meant. That was the first time I admitted it to myself though and I wanted it be here forever. No matter what happened I wanted this to always be here," he said, placing his hand firmly against the scarred skin of the sequoia.

Mary didn't know what to say. Danny's admission was surprising, but it did nothing to change the fact he had spent the next ten years keeping her at arm's length–with only a few notable exceptions.

"That was the summer we had our first real kiss."

"Yes, and if I remember correctly you gave me a black eye," Danny recalled, finally joining her on the rock.

"You caught me off guard," she protested with a slight chuckle.

"So you decked me?"

"Yeah, sorry about that," she laughed again.

"I thought I'd done it wrong."

"No!" Mary assured him. "It was…sweet."

Danny groaned dramatically in response to her description, but when he turned to see her reaction he noticed that she wasn't smiling anymore.

"It was a bad time for me and I didn't know how…I mean I wanted to, but… ," she stumbled. "I don't know what I'm trying to say."

"It's okay. I know," he whispered before placing a soft kiss near her ear. "I wish I'd known then what was going on, Mary. I wish you'd told me sooner."

"I was so ashamed…so confused. I couldn't understand why it was happening…why it was happening to me. I felt dirty…and bad and I didn't think anyone would ever want me–especially you." She was crying now and Danny wrapped his arms around her shoulders, holding her as tightly as he could. This was something that had been coming for a long time and as she talked about what her father had done he realized that her fears about their relationship went even deeper than he had guessed and she needed this emotional release before they could move on.

When she finally calmed, Danny tilted her chin so he could place a soft kiss on her lips. "You still think that," he told her.

At Mary's questioning gaze, he continued, "You still think that I won't want you. That when all this is over and we come out on the other side that things will go back to how they always were. You think that I only want you when times are hard--that I cling to you because I need to protect you when things get bad. You think when we're not in danger anymore and life goes back to 'normal' that I'll push you away again. Maybe you even think that what I feel for you is all because of whatever the hell they did to my mind, but you're wrong."

"Danny," Mary tried to argue, but he was determined to get this all out in the open.

"I'll admit that there are things in my head right now that I have no reason to think or feel. And sometimes I've been so confused and so out of my mind that I didn't know if I could go on, but the _one_ thing that kept me going. The one thing that I _knew_ was real is what I felt for you. My love for you is the only thing that's kept me sane. The only hope I've had in this dark tunnel and I am not going to let go of that…not _ever_."

Mary could do nothing to stop the tears that ran freely down her face and she couldn't tear her gaze from Danny's as he kneeled in front of her–pulling both of her hands to his chest.

"That night I left you…before Mike took me to the airport, I made a phone call. I told my dad that when I got back I needed …I needed my mom's ring."

He must have seen the shock pass through her eyes at that revelation because he once again stopped her protest before she could speak. "I know you're scared. I know you're so afraid that you're going to lose me for good that you're trying to distance yourself–trying to prepare yourself for what you think is inevitable, but I'm not going to let you. I'm not going to let you make the same mistakes I made for the last ten years."

Touching his hand to her face, he gently brushed away her tears before continuing. "I love you, Mary Connell. I always have and I always will. I knew before I left on this crazy tour that I wanted you to marry me. I probably even knew it somewhere deep down when I carved the heart in that tree. So what do you say…when this whole thing is over–when I'm better and we can just concentrate on being us–how about you and me spending the rest of our lives together?"

"Oh, Danny, what if we can't? What if we don't know how to just be normal? We've had so much heartache between the two of us and we've always clung to each other in those times. What happens when there's nothing like that to keep us together anymore?"

"Grief forms stronger bonds than joy ever could. If we can make it through all of this, we can make it through the good times too, Mary. Trust me. Can you do that?"

"With all that I am." Mary smiled as she leaned forward to capture Danny's lips again, a sense of hope and peace in her heart that she'd never felt before.

---

"He's late. You think everything's alright?" Mike asked before taking a nervous sip of his water.

"We said three o'clock. He's still got a few minutes," Ed responded, glancing at his watch again. The plan when Mary and Danny left was for them to contact Ed at three on the third day at Giacomo's. Ed knew the owner and staff well and hoped that this would prevent any trace of Danny's call.

"Do you think it's safe for him to come back?"

"I don't know, but the government doctors say they're ready. They have tails on all the other guys so they don't hurt themselves or anyone else. Once Danny is back here Kitz will have them all picked up and get that crap wiped out of their heads."

To be honest, Ed wasn't entirely sure he trusted his former employer to dig around inside anyone's head, much less Danny's but he worried they did not have a choice at this point.

"I don't understand why they haven't just brought the guys in already."

"Because they don't want Tucker to know that they're onto his grand scheme," Ed explained, watching the hostess carefully as she picked up the ringing phone. "They've contacted all the potential targets and are staging their 'deaths' one by one. This Tucker guy is probably already suspicious of Danny's absence right now, but if they pick up all of the other guys he'll know what's going on and bury himself so deep I'll never find him."

Ed noticed the young girl approaching the table and tried to look casual, but he was already going through a mental checklist of everything he needed to tell Danny so he almost didn't hear Mike when he asked, "You mean the CIA will never find him?"

"Mr. Deline, you have a telephone call."

Ed stood from the table at the same time he realized his slip up with Mike. He had needed help on this whole thing–someone he could trust–so he had probably told Mike more than he should, but his intentions where Jeff Tucker were concerned were something that absolutely had to remain confidential.

Turning back to Mike he gave a dismissive nod before replying, "Yeah, that's what I meant."

Mike watched Ed as he alternated listening and speaking into the phone. He had stretched the cord as far as it would reach so that he could have some privacy in a corner behind the cash register, but it was obvious that he was nervous and agitated. Two emotions he rarely exhibited. Mike wasn't sure what Danny was telling him, but he could tell that whatever it was had increased Ed's stress level tremendously. Finally, he saw the older man sigh and nod his head before asking a passing waitress for a pen and pad. It wasn't long after that he rejoined Mike at the table.

"Well? Are they okay?"

"Yeah, they're fine. I told them to give me two more days to get things set."

"I thought everything was set. What's going on?" He questioned anxiously.

"Danny wants another doctor to be present when all the procedures are done. He doesn't trust the government."

"Can you blame him?" Mike asked incredulously

"No. I had the same thought myself, but it's not that simple. They're trying to keep a lid on this thing and we keep wanting to bring more people in. It's going to be hard enough convincing the men in Danny's unit that they have to keep quiet, but now we're going to bring in some outside doctor. One who will no doubt be extremely curious about the nature of these procedures?"

"That's a chance these jerks will just have to take. Show them the schematics for the goggles and my notes on how they affect brain activity. If they see that we really know how those things work and are prepared to fax that info to CNN then that should give us a little more leverage, right?"

"It's worth a shot, but Kitz is going to have a coronary." Ed was impressed by Mike's conviction and determination to do whatever it took to help his friend.

As Mike watched his boss pull out a couple of twenties to pay the bill a thought suddenly occurred to him. "Did Danny have a specific doctor in mind?"

"Yeah," Ed responded, looking down at the piece of paper he'd scribbled the name on. "Some guy named Derek Shepherd."


	16. Chapter 16

_**I'm back! I know it's been like FOREVER since I've updated, but I'm determined to get my stories finished…starting with this one. I'm a little rusty so go easy on me. If you're still reading and interested please leave me a review. I always love hearing what the readers have to say. **_

**-16-**

**Chasing the Light…**

Mary looked around the tiny cabin one last time as she waited for Danny to shut down the generator. She knew it was time to go, but this place held so many memories; old and new, and she just couldn't bring herself to close the door yet. The thought of leaving this safe haven had left Mary's heart somewhere in her throat since they had spoken with Ed the day before to finalize the plans for Danny's surgery.

The rest of the members of Danny's unit were already being transported to a secret military facility; each of them being prepped for a procedure that would hopefully reverse the effects of the programming. Dr. Derek Shepherd, the man Danny had met in New York, had been reluctantly recruited and after meeting with the government doctors and reviewing their notes and studies, he had assured both Danny and Mary that everything appeared to be plausible.

His assurances still failed to put Mary's mind at ease. The man was obviously a very good neurosurgeon and after listening to him on the phone, Mary trusted that he would protect Danny as best he could, but she got the feeling the technology involved in this was years ahead of anything he had ever seen before. Her head had been pounding once they ended the call and she still couldn't get the words he'd said to stop flashing through her mind: seizures, blindness, memory loss, paralysis, brain damage. There were so many terrifying risks involved in this procedure, but she knew it was their only option; the only chance Danny had to escape the hell this experiment had created in his mind.

"You ready, baby?" Danny's voice was soft as he wrapped his arms around Mary from behind, resting his chin on her shoulder. "The snow's really starting to come down. We should get out of the mountains before we get stuck."

"Yeah, I just needed a minute."

Running her hands along his arms, Mary encouraged him to hold her tighter, trying to absorb the strength she always felt in his embrace.

She knew she should be relieved. They could actually see a light at the end of the tunnel and if everything went as Dr. Shepherd predicted, Danny's mind would once again be his own. Unfortunately, Mary was having trouble getting past the fact that Danny would have to take this last part of the journey alone.

The military had been generous in its concessions, allowing Danny to bring in an outside doctor, but they refused to allow Mary to accompany him. None of the other family members even knew what was happening and in the eyes of the CIA the fewer people who knew about this facility and what went on there the better.

As if sensing the turn her mind had taken, Danny spoke, "It's going to be okay, Mare. Ed's going to be with me the whole time. Besides, I'll feel much more at ease knowing you're safe at home."

"I'm afraid for you," she whimpered, trying not to cry again.

Danny softly kissed her neck before whispering in her ear, "I know." 

"What if you don't remember me?" She asked quietly, tears slowly trailing her cheeks

"There's no way that's going to happen, Mare. They're working on my brain, not my heart."

She chuckled a little at his attempt to be sweet before he turned her in his arms and forced her to look in his eyes, "This is going to work."

"How can you be sure?"

"Because you've given me something I've never had before—at least not since my mother died."

Her eyes filled with confusion as he brought her hands to his lips and spoke one simple word, "Faith."

Locking the cabin door, he pulled Mary towards the truck, helping her inside and moving around to the driver's side. "You know, the doctor said I'll probably need to stay in bed for at least a week so I'm going to need someone to take care of me."

Sensing his playful tone, Mary decided to play along. "I can call one of those home health agencies. That lady who comes to the Montecito…what was her name? Helga?"

Danny hopped in the driver's seat and started the engine. "A 300 pound former German wrestler was not exactly what I had in mind, Mare. I was thinking more along of the lines of a cute little red head in a very short nurse's uniform."

"Well, Mr. McCoy, you hurry home and I'll see what I can do."

Thankful for the break in tension, Danny smiled slyly at her before putting the truck in gear and heading back to civilization. They were due to meet Ed in Reno that afternoon. From there Mary would be flown back to Las Vegas while Danny and Ed would meet up with their military escort. He knew separating at the airport was going to be tough for both of them, but at least for now they could enjoy these last few hours together without the heavy tension that had been in the air since yesterday. Danny wasn't sure why, but he had complete faith in Dr. Shepherd and he knew that this procedure was going to put an end to the hell he'd been living these past few months. As long as he could keep Mary calm and reassured about the next few days then they could get past this last obstacle and concentrate on the rest of their lives.

---

_24 hours later_

"Well, if it isn't the man of the hour."

Danny chuckled a bit before reaching out to shake Dr. Shepherd's hand. After making sure Mary was safely on the Montecito jet, Danny and Ed had driven several hours to an abandoned airstrip, switching cars along the way. After that they had been escorted to a medical facility somewhere in Idaho where Danny now lay prepped for surgery. "How's it going, Doc?"

"Well, in the last week I met a strange man with a piece of metal in his head, I caught my wife in bed with my best friend, quit my job to move across the country and was kidnapped by shadowy figures and forced to reverse a military experiment gone wrong at a secret government facility. How about you?"

Danny was taken aback at the man's candor and he stumbled through a reply, "Uhh... I'm sorry about your wife."

"Yeah, well…maybe it's a good thing that I don't really have time to think about it right now."

"I'm sorry about all this; really I am," Danny told him sincerely. "I just needed someone on the outside to…"

"Don't worry about it," Shepherd waived off his apology. "My life was already completely turned upside down. Why not add a little intrigue to the mix."

"Well after this is all over why don't you come to Vegas?" Danny offered, trying to think of some way to repay the man who he had pulled into this mess.

"Absolutely, doc," Ed agreed. "Totally on us. Recharge your batteries before heading out to Seattle."

"Maybe I'll take you up on that," Derek smiled a little before getting back to the task at hand.

"So, there are essentially two procedures," he began, explaining everything in common terms as he'd done with all of the other men. "First, we use electrodes to isolate the areas we think are presenting the negative signals. Then once we have them all mapped out we send tiny electrical pulses to neutralize the signals."

Danny simply nodded, trying to take everything in. At this point the doc could have told him they were going to remove his head, run it through the spin cycle and then reattach it and he would have been okay with it. He just wanted to get it done and over with.

"The entire procedure will last about 4 to 5 hours and you'll be awake the whole time."

"Awake?" Ed asked incredulously. "While you operate on his brain?"

"Yes. It may sound a little crazy, Mr. Deline, but Danny will be under a local so he won't feel any pain."

Turning his attention back to Danny, the doctor continued, "I'll be asking you questions during the procedure…making sure that we're not affecting your speech or other brain functions."

Ed looked a little nauseous as he processed all the information, but Danny didn't notice. He was too busy thinking about afterwards. "How are the post-op tests coming back on the other guys?"

"So far, so good," Dr. Shepherd told him. "At least that's what they tell me. They're subjecting some of the guys we worked on yesterday to the outside stimulus and as far as I can tell there doesn't seem to be any adverse affects."

"Good." That was all Danny needed to know. Nothing else mattered except the end result.

"Ready?" Dr. Shepherd asked as the orderlies came in to wheel him out.

"You have no idea…"

He grasped Ed's hand one more time as he left the room, giving it a squeeze as the older man spoke, "I'll see you on the other side, kid."

---

_12 hours after that_

Mike walked outside the private hangar as he watched the Montecito jet make its landing.

They had received the call earlier in the day that Danny's surgery seemed to be a success and that he would be sleeping for most of the afternoon, allowing him time to recover from the trauma of the procedure. With that good news in hand Mike convinced Mary to escort one of their older patrons home, hoping the short trip would be good for her and get her mind off of worrying.

Mr. Benson had been coming to the Montecito property since it was the Jubilee back in the 1960's and he considered Mary his favorite employee. He was a wily old coot, but always a gentleman and while Sam catered to his gambling needs Mary had taken special care of him since his wife passed away.

"_Mike, I really don't think I should leave. What if Danny wakes up and calls?"_

"_Mary, you'll only be gone for a few hours. I promise if he calls I'll put it through to the plane if I have to. Now, come on, you've been moping around here since you got back. A little trip will do you good and Mr. Benson could use the company."_

"_I know. I want to go with him. He's had such a rough year with the cancer and I'm sure he could use someone to talk to, but…"_

"_But nothing. The sooner you go the sooner you'll get back," Mike told her, practically pushing her out the door._

"_Fine," she conceded, giving Mike a hard look. "You're really bossy, you know that?"_

"_I learned from the best, Miss Connell." The both shared a smile as Mary joined Mr. Benson in the limo and headed for the airport._

Feeling his phone vibrate in his pocket, he quickly moved back inside so he could hear over the roaring jet engines passing all around him.

"Hey, boss, everything okay?" He asked into the phone, noticing Ed's number on the display.

"I could get used to you calling me boss."

"Hey, Danny, man…it's so good to hear your voice."

"Yeah, it's good to have one," he replied, still a bit groggy from sleep.

"How do you feel?"

"My head is killing me and if I move too quickly the room spins, but other than that…I feel…pretty damn good."

"That's awesome, man." Mike was so excited to hear from Danny that he was actually bouncing on the balls of his feet.

"Is Mary with you? I've been trying her phone, but…"

"She will be in just a second," Mike assured his friend. "She flew home with Mr. Benson, but the plane's landing right now. I thought she needed a little distraction."

"Good idea," Danny agreed. "She's okay, though?"

"Yeah, she was much better when she found out you were out of surgery, but I think being able to talk to you is going to do wonders."

"For me too."

"Listen, is Ed close by. I wanted to talk about Tucker."

"Yeah, let me see if I can figure out the speaker on this thing," Danny replied as he fumbled with the buttons a bit in his post-surgery haze before giving up and handing the phone back to Ed, trusting that he would be filled in later.

"Whatcha got, Mikey?"

"I don't know, Mr. D., the guy has just dropped off the face of the earth. I mean, the CIA can't find him, we can't find him… He's probably sipping Mai Tai's somewhere."

"This guy is too arrogant for that. He's going to do something stupid and then we'll have him. We just have to be patient."

"Well, as long as he can't use Danny to do it…."

Mike watched the plane taxi off the runway and towards the hangar as Ed relayed the conversation to Danny.

"_What the…?"_ Mike said under his breath as he watched an airport vehicle pull in front of the jet and force it to stop, a couple of ground crewman signaling the pilot with their orange wands. Taking a few steps closer, Mike saw the steps lower and the two men board the plane.

"_I guess they're going to have to de-board away from the hangar for some reason." _Mike mumbled just loud enough for Ed to hear him through the phone.

"What's going on?"

"Nothing, just…" Mike couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong as he started walking towards the plane to meet Mary. It was still a good 100 yards away as he suddenly saw the stairs pulled back up into the jet, but instead of continuing its progress towards the hangar the plane turned and taxied back toward the runway.

"HEY!" He screamed, breaking out into a full run as he tried in vain to catch up with the jet. The phone was still gripped tightly in his hand, but was now at his side as he ran. Realizing there was no way he was going to catch them, he reversed his direction and moved back towards the hangar.

"Mike?! MIKE, WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!?!" He finally heard Ed yelling over his own pounding heart and quickly put the phone back to his ear.

"Someone just took Mary!"


	17. Chapter 17

_**So, Las Vegas has been canceled. I'm not really sure how I feel about that since it was a show I used to love a great deal, but it was so different from how it started out. As for the way it ended…all I can say is that now people know how Danny/Mary fans felt. After everything you invested in the show; all the hints, anvils and pleas to "hang in there" you feel like someone yanked the rug right out from under you…left you hanging with no explanation other than…budget cuts. It sucks, doesn't it? Oh well, unlike LV my story will have an ending…a happy one for the relationship that was the foundation of the show when it all started. **_

_**There's a lot going on in this chapter so I hope everyone can follow it. I'm almost finished with this one and I've got another story in progress that I will post soon after. Reviews are always helpful so please keep them coming. And thanks in advance for all the support. **_

_**Emmy**_

**Chapter 17**

_At Last We Meet…_

"Danny, please lie down," Ed tried to push the younger man back as he held his cell phone tightly to his ear.

"Mr. McCoy, you have to stay still…," the nurse ordered as Dr. Shepherd came back in with a hypodermic full of some sort of sedative.

"You come near me with that thing, Doc, and you're going to find out what special forces training is really all about. Now, where the hell are my clothes?"

"Danny," Ed tried again. "We don't even know where…." His voice trailed off as he heard voices on the other end of the line. "Mike, are you there yet?"

"_Almost. I can see the jet now, Mr. D."_

The room was in complete chaos as they waited for news about Mary. The Montecito jet had been ditched at an air strip near Carson City and Mike was on his way there. Danny had been fighting Dr. Shepherd and the nurses with every ounce of strength he had managed to recover since Ed had told him what happened.

"Is she there? Is she okay? Ed, tell me what's going on." Danny's voice was desperate, but at least he was focused on Ed's conversation now and not trying to get out of bed. Dr. Shepherd took the opportunity to reach for his IV line to try to get the sedative in, but Danny's reflexes were fast and he grabbed the man by the wrist and turned his hand until he lost his grip on the needle.

"God damn it, Danny," Dr. Shepherd yelled. "I'm trying to help you! You just had brain surgery for Christ's sake."

"Save it! You're done with your part so you don't have a say anymore." Danny spat back, misdirecting his anger.

"Both of you shut the hell up so I can hear what's going on! Mike?"

"_She's not here."_

"The pilot?"

"_Unconscious, but he's starting to come to… paramedics are checking him out now."_

"As soon as he's able we need to find out if he has any indication of where they were headed. Also find out what other planes have taken off in the last hour."

"_FAA is already working on it…Ed, I've been thinking. The only reason for them to take Mary would be so they could use her as bait, right? They're trying to flush out, Danny."_

"That's what I'm thinking and I could kick myself for not thinking about it before."

"_If they want Danny to come after her then they have to let him know where to look, right?"_

"Right. Did you find anything that might be a clue?"

"_No, but that's not what I was thinking. They have a way of contacting Danny without anyone else knowing about it."_

"You mean the signal. But they can't get to him that way anymore, Mike."

"_They don't know that. I bet they'll still try to send the signal, hoping that he'll get it. They're betting that he'll come out of hiding to help look for Mary."_

"That's a bet I would take. Get back to the Montecito and see if you can isolate that signal," Ed told him just as Agent Kitz entered the room.

Ed looked directly at him before continuing his conversation with Mike. "I'm going to put you in contact with someone who's going to help you figure out how to decode it. If we can figure out where they are then we'll have the element of surprise. Get back to the Montecito as soon as you can."

"_I'm on my way."_

Disconnecting the call, Ed turned back to Kitz, "Seems your boy Tucker has lost his patience. He hijacked the Montecito jet with Danny's fiancé on it."

"I'll talk to the FAA. See if they can trace…"

"My people are on it. He's already dumped the jet. He's looking for Danny."

"Well he can have me if you'd just let me out of here," Danny interrupted, continuing his attempts to disconnect the monitors and IV.

Ignoring his protege, Ed did not waste any time giving orders to Kitz, "I want whoever you've got that knows the most about this operation to work with Mike Cannon. Our theory is that they'll use the signal to try to let Danny know where he can find Mary."

"Ed, we want to help," the other man bristled, but Ed cut him off.

"Good because that's exactly what you're going to do or else that package I told you about is headed straight for the news desk at CNN."

----

"When I invited you to Vegas this isn't exactly what I had in mind, Doc." Danny said as he, Dr. Shepherd and Ed made their way up to the security room.

"Yeah, well, someone's got to keep you from killing yourself. I don't want all my hard work to go to waste."

The doctor had reluctantly released his most difficult patient with strict orders that included no heavy lifting, no over-exertion and explicit instructions to keep his head vertical and avoid lying down. Everyone involved knew that getting Danny to follow those orders when Mary's life was at stake was virtually impossible, but Dr. Shepherd was hoping that staying with Danny until that point might at least buy him a little more time to heal. He certainly seemed a lot calmer since they had arrived here at the hotel. Derek guessed the other man finally felt like they were making progress instead of laying in bed waiting.

The trio entered Ed's office, the doctor glancing briefly in awe at the equipment that lined the room.

"Any luck?" Danny asked Mike who was seated at the desk next to the technician the CIA had sent.

"Sorry, man. We've got nothing. The signal's not there anymore."

Danny let out an exasperated sigh as he sunk into one of the visitor's chairs. The wait and worry for Mary's safety was killing him and he wished briefly that he was still under their control—at least he might be able to find her then.

The guilt hit him again then. He never should have left her alone; he should have insisted that she be with him at the hospital, but once again he'd foolishly thought that she was safer away from him. Once he had her back in his arms he was never going to make that mistake again.

Suddenly desperate for any kind of connection, a thought entered his mind. "Hey, Mike. Where's my phone?"

"Right here," Mike said as he reached in the desk drawer and tossed him the phone. Danny knew there was a message from Mary last week that he still had saved. It was nothing special, just a list of items she needed from the store, but he hoped that the sound of her voice would help keep him focused and give him something to concentrate on other than the throbbing pain that had moved from his head to his heart.

Hitting the on switch, Danny waited for the phone to boot up, anxious to hear Mary's voice again. As soon as the screen showed a full set of bars it started to beep that he had an incoming text while at the same time the computer Mike and the tech were working off of seemed to go haywire.

"The signal's coming through now," Mike said excitedly and Danny looked down at his phone.

"It must be linked to my phone. It's too big of a coincidence that the signal started as soon as I turned it on."

"You're probably right," Mike said as he grabbed the phone and started studying the display. He started to take it apart, but the tech stopped him.

"If you alter the phone we could lose the signal. Give me some time to try to decode it."

"You're right, sorry, just got a little ahead of myself," Mike responded before handing the phone back to Danny. "You've got some texts."

"Yeah," Danny responded as he noticed they were all from Mary. He smiled sadly as he realized all of them said "I love you", but that sadness quickly turned to confusion. Mary knew he didn't have his phone with him so why had she sent all these messages. Scrolling back through the list Danny realized that they'd all been sent after she had been taken. "Hey, Mike. Did you program Mary's phone the way you programmed mine?"

"Yeah, why?"

"She's been sending me messages. The same one over and over again since she went missing."

Grabbing the phone Mike double-checked the time stamps. "Omigod, Danny."

"It could be a trap," Ed warned.

"I don't think so, Mr. D. I programmed Mary's phone so all she has to do is hit a series of three numbers and it automatically sends a text to Danny. If I remember correctly she enters 7-2-1 and hits send for this particular message. Only Mary would know the code for that message."

"That's my birthday, Ed. It's Mary. I know it is. She's trying to help us find her. If we can track the pings from her cell we can narrow down her location."

Danny reached for the desk phone and quickly dialed a familiar number. As he waited for his old friend at the phone company to answer the tech spoke up.

"We may not need that. I figured out the message. It's a set of coordinates—latitude and longitude-for a warehouse in San Francisco."

"I don't trust these guys," Ed responded, looking from the tech to Danny. "Let's get the cell phone info too and then we can compare notes. If we're going to take these guys out and get Mary back we need to have as much information as possible."

---

"Make sure the chopper's ready as soon as McCoy is on the move," Tucker ordered as he threw Mary roughly on the sofa. She quickly took in her surroundings as he moved to the other side of the large glass coffee table and fell exhaustedly into an overstuffed chair. They were in a house, somewhere in the Pacific Northwest judging by the time they had spent in the air and the landscape they'd flown over. She knew the place was isolated, surrounded by lush green forest as far as she could see. The house was elevated, allowing the wall to wall windows to peak out just over the treetops, but the helipad was hidden; carved out of the dense growth and only visible from the air.

As soon as the other man left the room, Tucker fixed her with a curious stare. She could feel his eyes bore into her as if he was searching for some sort of answer in her face. Two could play that game and she took the opportunity to observe him as well.

Whatever picture Mary might have had in her mind of Jeff Tucker when they first learned his identity, it was miles off from the man himself. He was short, only an inch or so taller than her without heels. He was thin, but despite his slight build he was freakishly strong. That was something she had found out the hard way when she tried to wrestle herself away from him as they moved from the Montecito jet to the helicopter. He wasn't fazed by her struggling either and had taken a perverse pleasure in her defiance.

Mary had counted four of them including the pilot and while all of them carried guns, Mary thought most of them looked woefully unprepared to use them. That was clearly evident in the fact that they had simply disabled the pilot instead of killing him, much to her relief.

Tucker's stare was beginning to unnerve her and she was thankful when he finally spoke. "What is it about you?"

Mary looked at him with a puzzled expression and he laughed her confusion. "I underestimated the hold you had over him, but that can be fixed.

"What are you talking about?"

"You really have no idea how much trouble you've caused me, do you?"

"Am I supposed to feel bad?" Mary asked incredulously. "What about what you've done to all these men?"

"They're a bunch of stupid jarheads."

"They're human beings! Brave men who dedicated their lives to their country and to helping other people. They have families and people who love them. Who are you to decide that they didn't mean anything?" Mary was standing now as her emotions flared.

Tucker was on his feet now too and took two steps before yanking Mary towards him and gripping her upper arms tightly. "I'm someone who is used to getting what he wants, Mary." He leaned in to kiss her but was caught off guard when she spit in his face.

Pulling a handkerchief from his pocket, he quickly swiped the remnants of saliva away before stuffing the rag in her mouth. Mary tried to protest, but Tucker had pulled both her hands behind her back and was holding her wrists firmly. As his other moved under her shirt the panic set in, but she tried to control her breathing. The cloth in her mouth was already making her gag and she knew if she hyperventilated it would only pull it further into her throat.

Mary's increasing terror came not only from the thought of what Tucker was about to do, but also because she was afraid he would discover the cell phone she had tucked in her bra. She'd kept it hidden underneath her loose-fitting blouse—sending text messages to Danny as often as she could in the hopes that someone would discover them—but if he found it now there was no telling what he would do.

"It didn't have to be this way, Mary," he whispered huskily, trailing wet kisses down her neck. "All I ever needed was Danny's cooperation, but you were always in the way…always in his head. And I want to find out why."

He was massaging her breast now, but with his left hand holding her wrists he could only manage to grope her right side. Luckily, her phone was on the left.

Mary's cries were muffled as she tried to pull away from him, but he was too strong for her.

"You won't think I'm disgusting when I'm through with you, Mary. I can make you think whatever I want." His hand grasped the hem of her shirt and was about to pull it over her head when someone entered the room.

"Tucker," the older man said, his eyes registering mild annoyance as he took in the scene before him.

"I'm kinda busy here, Jerry."

"McCoy just breached the perimeter alarm."

Mary let out a sob as she heard Danny's name. She probably should have been worried that he was here and not still in the hospital, but her heart would not let her mind register anything but relief.

Turning to his employee in disbelief Tucker fired off questions, "Are you sure it's him? How the hell did he find us? He's supposed to be on his way to the warehouse. Those are the coordinates we sent."

"He must have tracked us another way."

Considering this option, Tucker turned back to Mary as a thought suddenly occurred to him.

"Where is it?" He asked menacingly, pulling the rag from her mouth.

Mary gasped, trying to catch her breath and slow her heart rate. "What?"

"You know what! You must have something on you. Where is it?!?" Tucker was relentless as he tore at her blouse, ripping it down the front.

Mary screamed as he continued his assault, groping and pulling on her bra until he discovered her cell phone. Tucker looked at it briefly before throwing it violently against the wall. Mary watched in horror as the phone shattered into a thousand pieces and she barely had time to turn her gaze back to Tucker before he struck her violently across the cheek. She grabbed her face, the sting of the slap bringing tears to her eyes.

Mary could feel the rage rolling off of Tucker in waves and knew that he was not done with her. As she tried to steady herself he struck again, this time delivering a close-fisted punch. Stumbling back, she was unable to regain her balance as her body crashed through the glass.

"Great, Tucker. What the hell are we supposed to do now?" Jerry asked as he watched the blood slowly pool around Mary's half-naked body, her eyes lolling back in her head as she struggled for consciousness.

"Exactly what we planned. Everything we need is here anyway. Once Danny gets up to the house we'll start the reassignment. Make sure the strobes are ready."

"And what about her?" Jerry asked, nodding his head towards Mary, her eyes finally closed as she lay lifeless in the shattered glass.

"She'll be dead soon. Besides, by the time I'm done with Danny he won't remember Mary Connell ever existed."


	18. Chapter 18

Checkmate

_**Checkmate**_

Danny tried to calm his heart rate as he pushed the last 20 yards to the house, listening to the various voices relaying information in his ear. He had never been more prepared for a mission in his life, but there had never been more at stake. Thanks to the CIA's advanced technology, he knew the location of every person in and around the house; he knew that the engine on the chopper was still warm; he knew that Ed was 50 yards behind him, tracing his steps; and he knew that one of the heat images being tracked in the house had gone prone and had a rapidly dropping body temperature.

He pushed that thought to the back of his mind as a bolt of lightening split the sky, followed rapidly by a deafening boom of thunder. The heavens had been threatening to spill for the last hour and they were finally about to unleash their wrath. Danny thanked whoever was above for the additional cover and distraction the storm would provide just as he reached the edge of the trees and caught his first glimpse of Tucker's fortress.

A few minutes later he was scaling the helipad and moving towards the side door. The rain was coming down in sheets now and he had to strain to hear the latest update.

"_They're waiting for you, Lieutenant. Just inside the door, one on each side. _"

Danny processed this information, his mind running through the laundry list of possibilities before his eyes in the sky confirmed Ed's suspicions.

"_We just noticed a pulse of electrical energy. I'd say they've got Tasers. _"

Like all special forces Danny had been trained to withstand the effects of various stun guns, but his reaction the night at Ed's had been unusual and caught the older man's attention. Ed had speculated that something in Danny's programming was geared to cause such a violent reaction. It would be an unexpected way to contain him and the others if Tucker and his cohorts ever felt threatened. The theory sounded plausible, but they hadn't had time to test it since Danny's surgery. If they knocked him out the second he walked inside then their whole plan was shot to hell.

"Showtime," Tucker whispered as he and his chopper pilot, Kyle, watched the scene unfold on the monitor from the safety of the control room. As soon as McCoy was inside Jerry and Reed would have him under control and they could get started on the next phase of the plan.

He held his breath as the marine stepped through the door, the two men poised to strike. Tucker could barely contain his excitement as he saw the blue flash of a Taser and a body fall to the floor, before a huge clap of thunder rattled the house and plunged everything into darkness.

"DAMNIT!" Tucker shouted as he fumbled in the dimness created by the emergency lights.

"Lightening must have taken out the electricity," Kyle commented, punching random buttons on the control panel.

"You think?!" Tucker screamed in frustration.

"I thought you had generator back-up in this place."

"We do, you idiot. That's why we still have some lights, but the generator will only power minimal operating systems and that doesn't include the cameras."

Opening the door Tucker turned back to the other man, "Go help them get McCoy back here. He won't be out for very long so we need to get him secured."

"_One subject approaching you from the west side of the house. ETA 14 seconds. The other is staying put for now. _"

"Probably Tucker…coward," Danny mumbled to himself as he stashed the two unconscious men outside the door. The shock from their weapons had knocked him to his knees, but he'd been able to quickly recover and disable both of them. Score one for the good guys.

Navigating his way through the dimly lit room Danny glanced up at the camera in the corner. He hoped the power outage had disabled them, but he couldn't be sure. Making a quick decision, he decided that moving away from the approaching unknown was the best way to determine if they were flying blind.

"Mary?" Danny asked quietly, his voice barely audible, but emitting just enough of a vibration to register with the control unit.

"_We've got movement in the northeast corner. _"

"Movement? I thought you said the figure was immobile?"

"_It's moving now. We suggest you secure the house before you proceed to that location. _"

"Screw that."

"Danny," he heard Ed in his earpiece. "I'm almost there. Find Mary and I'll take care of the other two."

"_Negative, you are both to secure the premises…_"

"This is my op. You provide intel and shove the orders up your ass," Ed quickly responded.

Danny listened to the men argue in his ear as he moved further into the house. He could hear the confused voice of Tucker's third man, calling for his buddies and realized that they had no idea Danny had won that round.

When he reached the living room he immediately noticed the remnants of a violent struggle and his heart lodged in his throat when he saw the dark liquid staining the floor amidst a sea of broken glass. At that moment the house powered back to life and his eyes fell on the smeared trail of blood that disappeared down the hallway.

The sounds of struggle behind him clued him into the fact that Ed had arrived, most likely taking out the third suspect who had been approaching Danny from behind.

"Number 3 secure," Ed's voice was gravelly and out of breath.

"_Take cover_," filled their ears but Danny didn't listen, his mind was too focused on finding Mary. Moving deftly down the hallway, Danny followed the trail through the small dining area and into the kitchen. He tried to take a few calming breaths as he rounded the island, steeling himself for the worst, but nothing could have prepared him for what happened next.

"SSSSssssssssssss," Danny hissed quietly in pain as the knife plunged deep in his foot.

Instinct had taken over and his gun trained momentarily on his attacker, trying to ignore the searing fire that was coursing up his leg. That instinct was quickly replaced with something else when he saw the crumpled and trembling figure on the floor.

Dropping to his knees, Danny holstered his weapon and quickly began to assess Mary's injuries.

"I'm…sorry…oh…God…sorry…I thought…him," Mary sobbed softly, her breath coming in gasps as she struggled to stay conscious.

"_Lieutenant McCoy? Your pulse is extremely high. Are you okay? _"

"Shhhh," Danny pushed the blood-soaked hair away from her face, trying to give as much comfort as he could with soft kisses to her forehead.

"Danny?" Ed questioned when the younger man did not answer right away.

_"Lieutenant!" _

"Mary needs a….," his request for medical assistance was cut off by a barrage of ear-splitting feedback and static. Yanking the piece from his ear in frustration, Danny grabbed a stack of hand towels from the counter and put as much pressure as he could against the gaping wound in Mary's side.

The rage of the storm outside matched Danny's simmering emotions as he tried to tamp it down and concentrate on helping Mary. "It's going to be okay, baby."

Looking into her eyes, Danny knew he was losing her and at this point he was helpless to stop it. "Stay with me," he begged in a whisper as he touched his lips softly to hers, but as she opened her mouth to respond Danny felt the cold steel against his temple.

"Isn't this touching," Tucker spat, grabbing Danny's gun from its holster and taking a step back from the couple.

"Listen, Tucker. I'm the one you want. Just let me get Mary out of here and you can do whatever you want with me."

"Forget it, McCoy! Both of you have caused me way too much trouble." Danny's eyes narrowed as he watched the muscles in Tucker's hand move to squeeze the trigger and then suddenly stop as he was now the one with the muzzle of a gun pressed against the base of his skull. "You might want to rethink that," Ed said as Tucker quickly dropped his weapon.

Danny quickly secured it and his own gun as Ed spun the man around to face him.

"What? How?" Tucker sputtered incredulously.

"You should never leave a hole in your defenses."

"But…we scanned all the cameras... There were no other breaches!"

"Yeah, well that's where experience wins out. You had one of those cameras trained on Danny during his approach. I just followed right behind him…right outside your view."

"And my men? How did you get past them?"

"Yeah, you might want to get this thing checked," Danny commented as he pulled the stun gun from his vest and made contact with Tucker. Ed and Danny both watched as the other man convulsed violently and fell to the floor, his eyes rolling back in his head and drool making its way from his mouth.

"Guess it does work…," Danny gave Ed a thankful nod as he immediately moved back to the kitchen, ignoring the pain in his foot.

Careful to keep his gun trained on Tucker, Ed took a few steps into the kitchen to see what he could do to help Danny.

"How's she doing?" the older man asked, trying to hide his own shock at the sight of Mary covered in blood. He wasn't sure how Danny was still functioning but he assumed that adrenaline had taken over.

"Mary," Danny called softly, brushing his fingers across her cheek. Ed watched her struggle to open her eyes, but try as she might she could not make them focus.

"Is your radio working? We've got to get her out of here NOW."

"No, it must be from the storm, but I've already activated the ER beacon." The words were barely out of Ed's mouth when they heard the distinct sound of a chopper outside and then heavy footsteps on the roof mixed with the sounds of the storm.

"Here comes the cavalry," Danny said to no one in particular as he heard the agents make their way through the house, securing it room by room.

Once they reached the kitchen things moved at a rapid pace. Ed and Danny were quickly pulled aside to debrief as two medics tended to Mary. Within moments she was hooked to an IV and strapped to a backboard.

"What about the storm?" Danny asked as they carried her through the house, her hand grasped firmly in his.

"Our pilot has flown in a lot worse. Besides, she doesn't have time to wait it out."

Those words broke through whatever had been holding Danny together and he faltered a bit. The pain in his foot and the sickness in his stomach, not to mention the fact that he'd been through brain surgery only 24 hours earlier finally catching up with him.

Once they had set the stretcher down, Danny touched his forehead to Mary's and whispered every promise he could think of as the medics secured her unconscious form in a MedEvac transport basket. The CIA chopper had been unable to land on the helipad since it was already occupied so Mary would have to be pulled into the hovering chopper using the basket.

"_God, please don't let me lose her now, _" he prayed as he watched the basket move steadily up and then disappear inside the chopper.

"She'll be okay, kid," Danny turned at the sound of Ed's voice just as the medics approached him with a harness.

"We've got room for both of you. Who wants to go first?" The medic yelled over  
the noise of the rotors.

"Just him," Ed yelled back. "And make sure you check him out. He's not as healthy as he looks."

"Ed?" Danny questioned, but was quickly cut off.

"I'll meet up with you later. There's something I've got to finish."

Danny started to protest, but it died on his lips when he saw the look in the older man's eyes.

"Lieutenant, we've got to go now," the medic shouted.

Danny could only nod as he stepped into the harness. As he felt himself being pulled into the sky his last glimpse of Ed was of the older man pulling something from his pocket that looked like a syringe and disappearing back into the house.


End file.
